NEW YORK — It’s not just the musical “Hairspray” that will air live on NBC Wednesday night. So will a handful of the show’s commercials.
NBC hopes some innovative approaches will keep viewers interested and point the way toward more creativity among advertisers at a time viewers are accustomed to fast-forwarding through commercials. The live musical, which is quickly becoming a December tradition for NBC, is “the biggest test kitchen that we could possibly have,” said Linda Yaccarino, chairwoman of advertising sales and client partnerships at the network, on Tuesday.