I’m kicking myself once again for falling prey to the temptation of a cheap quick fix via social media courtesy of Temu, the Chinese answer to Amazon that I made the mistake of downloading a while ago and somehow continue to forget to delete. For those of you who have it, you’ve probably noted that they are relentless in sending alerts of all kinds that clutter my display, inevitably leading me into the app to quickly delete it. I’m one of those who can’t stand seeing those red boxes anywhere and I probably have developed greater dexterity in cancelling any rabbit-hole inducements that might otherwise get me to engage more frequently than I otherwise should than any other appeal to instant gratification.
But when going through that ritual last week I actually saw a prompt for a microwave panini grill that I needed to replace the one that had run its course a few months ago that offered a ridiculously low price–so much that Temu insisted that I add a couple of other small purchases to meet the minium required for free shipping. So I hurriedly clicked on a prompt to add a razor and what at least looked like the safety blades I typically use that I needed to replace anyway. I received it yesterday and immediately put them to use. Big mistake. I’ve already gone through six bandages for my chin and scalp and I’m heading out later today for a replacement. So much for quality control from them Chinese.
So I’m therefore a bit more skeptical than those who have been increasingly embracing the concept of microdramas that have emerged in that culture and have produced what many see as indisputably strong ROIs. It became as burdgeoning a hot topic as AI and crypto to the young and impressionable last summer, enough so that THE ANKLER’s uppity yentas Elaine Low and Natalie Jarvey doubled up and devoted a couple of deep dives into the area that highlighted exactly why this Chinese import has taken root. The slightly more seasoned Low had perhaps the more nuanced take:
There’s something about the way people talk about microdrama production that reminds me of the race to fill then-new streaming services from HBO Max to Apple TV+ with hours of original series ahead of launch. If you come from the world of traditional TV production and development, the idea of microdramas might give you pause. At their worst, they’re cheesy, thinly written and broadly acted sagas centered on handsome billionaires or sexy werewolves. They’re non-union productions. (T)hree months ago, the medium was still somewhat of a curiosity. Now I can’t go to an industry cocktail party or coffee with a TV exec without someone mentioning the booming market — which, according to Sensor Tower data, has seen double- and triple-digit revenue growth in the last five quarters, to $700 million in Q1 of 2025. And that’s only looking at in-app revenue — i.e., users purchasing coins or credits to pay for content (Sensor Tower’s data is based on in-app purchase estimates from App Store and Google Play, excluding revenue from third-party Android stores). Most apps also earn advertising dollars, and the total global microdrama market for 2025 is estimated at anywhere from $7 billion to as much as $15 billion.
Which brings us to now and with the usual amount of meticulous planning and beta testing that is common to a desperate and determined generation–translation: not much–we have this distraction now readily available on the device of your choice, one which SOAPHUB’s Sabrina Reed has been doggedly reporting on for a while and dropped this dime when it launched at the end of last month:
The wait for The Golden Pear Affair is over. The anticipated micro soap is Procter & Gamble’s first foray into this increasingly popular entertainment format. The series, which crosses a case of mistaken identity with a globe-trotting adventure to nab a thief, is the company’s way of appealing to a new, younger audience. In doing so, they’ll likely to draw in longtime soap opera fans as well.
I was reminded of this when as he typically does ESNAP’s Evan Shapiro made this the focus of his weekly MEDIA WAR AND PEACE deep dive that subscribers like me (and I would hope you) received in their inboxes early yesterday. Bless his heart, he pointed out a few more red flags than even Low was capable of:
My first critique is that the content is crap. My next is that their producers treat artists and crew like livestock. My last issue is that unless you have billions to spend, and/or are backed by the Chinese government, THIS IS NOT A BUSINESS MODEL. Last year, based on numerous sources, ReelShort generated $1.3 billion in revenue – primarily through in-app sales of pay-more-to-see-more packages. They spent the same amount, $1.3 billion, to acquire the customers needed to generate that revenue. This is not organic growth; this is paid acquisition marketing. Churn is their business. They are a massive spender on social media CPI marketing, at higher and higher CACs. That is why they lost half a billion last year. And this is true of most of the cohort of original Microdrama pioneers – a model primarily designed for the Chinese market.
In other words, Temu and TikTok for what you young ‘uns define what we old farts foolishly just call”TV”.
But in the spirit of even-handedness Shapiro went on to use actual objective data to at least explain why so many of Low’s mushroom coffee loving and microdosing partygoers are all hot and bothered:
Millennials turn 45/46 this year. Gen Z turns 30/31. 58% of Americans are Millennials or younger. For the most part, as this data from GWI demonstrates, they entertain themselves very differently than their elders.
Gen Z uses Trad TV three times less than Gen X. Gen X watches social video less than half as much as Gen Z. Where everyone meets in the middle is streaming. Millennials are reaching middle age while Gen Z are becoming our managers, teachers, cops, and business owners. As they do, their behaviors become our societal norms.
So to those tastemakers the GOLDEN PEAR AFFAIR site has purportedly been eagerly bookmarked and binged, enough so that it got me to sample it. I got through the first seven microdoses before further investment of time and especially money was required because, yeah, I’m still in buyer’s remorse mode from my Temu experience. I’ll let you have your own experience and make your own judgement. You might even be inclined to see it through to its denouement. If so, do let me know what I missed.
But I’m not necessarily rejecting this “phenomenon” because I’m a fuddy-duddy. It’s because I’ve seen something just as marginal with a lot of heat and hype behind it–heck, I was given the task of both quantitatively and quantitatively researching it. In 2005 I spent an outsized amount of time on this project which E! NEWS trumpeted in similar fashion to how GOLDEN PEAR AFFAIR has been:
Drama, as in your favorite Fox action series, 24, which is about to become the first TV show to be spun off into its own cell phone series. The joint project between Fox and Vodaphone, titled 24: Conspiracy, will be a series of 24 “mobisodes,” minute-long installments of video that will feature a storyline similar to Fox’s hit Keifer Sutherland show. Conspiracy, however, will star different characters and actors. In the series’ first mobisode (a term that Fox has already trademarked), a rogue Counter Terrorist Unit agent named Susan Walker (Beverly Bryant) kills a big shot government official. Her fellow CTU-er Martin Kail (Dylan Bruce) is hot on her trail, but exactly who the bad guy is will be up in the air, as Kail may just be a pawn in a conspiracy that involves his CTU bosses.
FX got involved as we were frequently called upon to support rollouts of new seasons with short-term marathons and encore broadcasts; our more aggressive cable partners such as Jim Dolan’s Cablevision seized upon this as a VOD opportunity. It gave me an excuse to travel to Long Island to measure sentiment, and you know I’d never turn down a chance to make a trip to see family and friends on Rupert Murdoch’s dime. It also gave me the chance to actually hear directly from a generation I was no longer a part of what THEY really thought. In a word, the verdict was “meh”. They could tell the differences between no-name actors and contrived plotlines. The results both on the relatively primitive cellphones and the theoretically more opportunistic VOD were well below expectations. A second season was never attempted even though the actual show ran for four more. So now you know why that particular part of an otherwise celebrated show’s history has been relegated to deep-dive trivia.
I’m also seasoned enough where I recall a series of traditional TV commercials for Taster’s Choice coffee that attempted to achieve the same bottom-line goals that GOLDEN PEAR AFFAIR do. The LOS ANGELES TIMES (and now DEADLINE’s) expert Ted Johnson detailed that effort in a piece waaaay back in 1994. Now let’s return to today and take note of what VARIETY’s Brian Steinberg pointed out last December:
“The Golden Pear Affair” is meant to highlight Procter’s Native line of personal-care products. A new collection of “Global Flavors” products sport fragrances from around the world, and will likely get some nods during all the action in “Pear.” …The Native products being spotlighted will be available only via the brand’s website and in Target stores. “It’s got romance. It’s certainly got adventure. And it’s a lot of fun,” says Geneva Wasserman, global executive vice president of entertainment IP strategy and investment at Dentsu, the agency that has worked with Procter & Gamble on creating the series.
Judging by Wasserman’s LinkedIn timeline, I doubt she remembers much about 24: CONSIPRACY and was clearly not in the demo that would buy freeze-dried coffee when she had the chance to at least watch the Taster’s Choice spots. I’d like to think she at least is planning to do at least as much analysis on her minions as I did. I’m told Dentsu still has a few people who in theory could do that for her. My hunch is she could learn at least as much as I did.
She might want to do a control group with people who have recently ordered something off of Temu versus those that have the sense not to. They might have been more inclined to be predisposed to microdramas in general. I for one would be curious if GOLDEN PEAR AFFAIR was their razor blade moment.
Until next time…