Arnett and Bateman, At Your Service

It may be called DumbDumb, but there’s nothing dumb about this branded entertainment startup from comedians Will Arnett and Jason Bateman, as evidenced by its first longform video spots for Orbit gum.

The brand is not so subtly hyped on DumbDumb's site and YouTube to pitch Orbit as a product that can “clean up dirty situations.” Arnett and Bateman are the creators, directors and executive producers of the shorts, in which they also star.

It also marks a new direction for Orbit, the Wrigley-owned brand that spoofed its longrunning "dirty mouth" campaign at the recent profanity-filled MTV Movie Awards.

DumbDumb is co-producing the Orbit digital shorts campaign in partnership with CollegeHumor.com and Electus, the branded entertainment company started by Ben Silverman after he left NBC as its head of entertainment.

"They come from the vocabulary that Jason and Will grew up in, now applied to this new medium,” Silverman comments about DumbDumb's launch in today's New York Times.

"Major brands recognize that the media landscape is changing quickly and that their success relies a great deal on their ability to expand well beyond traditional advertising. Orbit is a category changing brand on the forefront of this digital evolution and we are thrilled that they are among the first to join forces with DumbDumb whose content will allow audiences to view their brand in a fresh and compelling new way," adds Drew Buckley, COO of Electus.

Bateman, best known for Arrested Development and Up in the Air, notes, “I’m not a seller; I’m not an advertiser. We don’t claim to do that. We’re just looking to make cool pieces of entertainment and just arbitrarily make that subject matter a brand’s message.”

Working with acting pals like Jeffrey Tambor, Rachel Harris and Aubrey Plaza, DumbDumb's digital shorts promote brands in “tasteful, nonpandering ways,” he added. Energy BBDO, Orbit’s agency of record “provided creative insight into the campaign development.”

If the Orbit campaign clicks with viewers and pays off for Wrigley, there's a good chance this flavor of comedic brand advertising may turn out to be, well, SmartSmart.