The first attempt by a consumer product company to launch a full-scale TV network with original long-form programming online, the project was met with great anticipation and interest among media and marketing professionals.
[5] The site's age verification firewall required users to enter personal information from government-issued identification, such as driver's license, before registering in order to discourage under-aged visitors.
[7] Writers tapped for bud.tv came from Saturday Night Live and The Howard Stern Show, and deals were made with such Hollywood players as Vince Vaughn,[8] Kevin Spacey, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon,[9] in addition to sportscaster Joe Buck and race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.[10] bud.tv's original programming has included a comedy named "Replaced by a Chimp," a story about an everyday hero starring Tim Meadows entitled, "Ice Vision and Chef," and a show called "Future Man" starring Chris Parnell and Kevin Farley.
The breakout hit for the site came in the form of a discarded Super Bowl commercial entitled "Swear Jar" which, at the time, increased traffic by 50%.
[citation needed] The strategy behind this kind of original content created by companies or advertisers is to reach the exact audience segment intended for a given product, utilizing a "soft sell" technique.