A year ago this month, it looked like true brand integration and cross-promotions in Canadian film and TV were having a hell of a time getting traction.

Alliance Atlantis had just fallen badly on its face with the feature Foolproof, a project that was rife with innovative branding ideas and strategically positioned logos aimed at creating significant cross-promotional synergies (or whatever) for the dozen or so brands on board.

Not only was Foolproof’s failure at the box office the final nail in the coffin of AAC’s production business, it also threw a huge bucket of cold water on advertisers looking to partner with Canadian productions in similar high-profile ventures.

At the same time, Canadian Idol, with its cross-promo ties to L’Oreal Paris and its average audiences in excess of two million, had just finished its first run as summer 2003 closed out. But despite its good numbers, there was word soon after the first Idol wrapped that CTV was pondering canning the talent extravaganza because, despite ratings successes, the net barely broke even on the show.

The thing is, though, it’s hard to keep a good idea down. Here we are a year later and the cross-promotion/branded content/product placement train is steaming ahead.

A second run of Canadian Idol this summer has proven the show a perennial ratings winner and CTV has adjusted its sponsorship fees, meaning the network is enjoying the spoils of its high numbers this time around. It has also seen its promotional partnership with music label and partner BMG strike platinum with the release of Idol Ryan Malcolm’s debut CD.

Meanwhile, another CTV property, Instant Star, is ready to hit the airwaves with a couple of cross-promotional tricks up its sleeve, including a distribution deal with Universal Music to move a CD by star Alexz Johnson. Producer Epitome Pictures is also negotiating a cross-promo deal with an as-yet-unnamed title sponsor to tie in a national brand and use Johnson and her visage in ad campaigns and giveaways.

The third leg of the stool is the recently aired two-part Discovery series Birth of a Sports Car, which focused on the manufacturing of a BMW. At a recent Toronto International Film Festival industry session on branded entertainment, Andrew Burnstein, director and executive producer, Discovery Channel Canada, revealed that BMW paid 20% of the production costs and gave producers complete access to BMW manufacturing plants.

While some would say Discovery stepped far over the line when it allowed BMW to help underwrite the production, Burnstein insists that producers held firm editorial control and refused to cut segments that reflected badly on BMW’s design integrity. ‘It’s their job to protect the brand and it’s our job to make documentaries,’ he said.

The issue does, however, highlight the ongoing debate as to just what such partnerships are doing to the autonomy of the independent producer.

Still, judging from these activities, plus dozens more on air or in the works, one can only conclude that the prospects for finding partners, integrating brands and building cross-promotional opportunities continue to grow, despite the inevitable missteps and ethical dilemmas encountered along the way.