The lines blur...

I've been reading about True Blood's marketing strategy - blending fact and fiction across multiple platforms, with a focus on social networks, to fabricate a possible reality where vampires exist but no longer have to feast on human blood given the discovery of a synthetic beverage that can curb their thirst. So they are now free to come out of the casket.

Enter Season 2: the ante is upped and this concept pushed even further into 'faction', with True Blood not only advertising to vampires, but actually creating the blood replacement beverage which will be in stores September 8th.

Lewis Grossberger, from Newser, comments: And HBO's promo writers have come up with a splendid verb to describe the concept of selling a concoction created for the characters on a TV series: They say they're “de-fictionalizing” Tru Blood. Is that beautiful? A fictional concept enters the world of reality, thus shedding its fictionality.

I'm not sure what I think of all this, except that it's interesting and lucrative. Last year’s season drew an average audience of 7.8 million viewers per episode.

I wonder if the fantasy will continue to meet the road authentically this year?