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McDreamy's Sweater

Have you ever been distracted from the melodramatic interactions between the attractive doctors on Grey's Anatomy with the thought "I wonder where I could buy that sweater?"

If so, than you are the target audience for a new website, SeenON, which launches November 15. Through partnerships with ABC Entertainment, NBC Universal, Twentieth Century Fox, CBS Paramount Television, E!, and Martha Stewart Omnimedia, SeenOn connects consumers with products seen on TV.

For example, if one evening you see one of the ladies from Wisteria Lane wearing something you admire you can read about it on the site. From the SeenON blog:

If you caught last night’s episode of Desperate Housewives then surely you didn’t miss Gabrielle in her undies. The revealing set was from the “Fifi” line of notoriously sexy lingerie house, Agent Provocateur.

Designers and stylists from programs such as "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives" will provide SeenON with information about the wardrobes, housewares, and sets shown on their programs. Users can search for products by show, movie, actor, or product type. The site directs users to websites where they can purchase the products mentioned. In addition, the site will offer shop-able video content that the company is calling Shopisodes.

Television advertisers will likely be excited about SeenON's service as it takes product placement to a whole new level. Sometimes product placement is done appropriately (Home Depot and "Extreme Makeover Home Edition") and sometimes not (the awkward and nauseating Oreo-centered episode of "Seventh Heaven").

SeenOn might allow advertisers to insinuate their merchandise into the fabric of a television show and get the exposure they want without interrupting the flow of the drama. Or, a service like SeenON could commercialize television and movies even more than they are today.

What do you think about SeenON's business model? Will viewers want to shop TV?
Is SeenON a great way to connect TV viewers with the products they admire? Or does it herald the end of entertainment for entertainment's sake and hasten the time when a TV drama or comedy becomes nothing more than an hour-long product showcase?