Question: What do condoms, mayonnaise, life insurance and hamburgers have in common?

Answer: Major brands in each of these product categories are looking to boost awareness and sales by using broadband video initiatives to inform and entertain audiences.

In the continuing round of experimentation about how to take greater control of their branding, at least 4 companies - Lifestyles Condoms, Hellmann's, MetLife and Carl's Jr. are pursuing, or considering pursuing their own video efforts. It's a further sign that brands are piling into broadband, eager to take advantage of the new benefits the medium offers.

These efforts are often grouped under the broad heading "Branded Entertainment." Though that's a handy catch-all, there's actually a wide range of projects underway including webisodes or standalone videos, each with their own specific objectives.

For example, Lifestyles has begun running a series called "Noah and Baron Talk Man Sh*t", depicting two comedians trekking around Europe and featuring humorous condom references. Back in a more G-rated Hellmann's, is introducing "Real Food Summer School" with Yahoo featuring chef Bobby Flay giving cooking lessons to amateurs. The videos will heavily feature Hellmann's mayonnaise. Meanwhile MetLife has created a single animated video, "Everyone Into the Pool" to help explain the concept of risk-pooling and the value of life insurance in a fun, straightforward way.

For all these brands video is a way of helping explain their products and benefits, in a far more entertaining, immersive and informative manner than typical 30 second TV spots allow. They follow previous initiatives from Nike, Cartier, Campari, Shell Oil, Dove and others.

While I think it's still early in the push for branded entertainment, there does seem to be a clear trend towards experimentation. Also agencies are quickly setting up units to assist in moving this forward (Digitas was the latest with "The Third Act" unveiled 2 weeks ago). I'd expect plenty more branded entertainment initiatives to come.