New Soap ‘The Golden Pear Affair’ Debuts With 90 Second Shorts Featuring Product Placements

There’s a new player on the daytime drama landscape, Procter & Gamble’s microdrama, The Golden Pear Affair (double entendre anyone?) which debuts on social media in January.

P&G is synonymous with soaps so it makes sense that the company is pioneering a new soapy format, the microdrama which is designed to attract the attention of younger viewers.

According to Variety, P&G’s new venture features episodes that range from 1-2 minutes, with product placements. Keep reading to discover what to expect from The Golden Pear!

What Is a Microdrama?

A microdrama is a bite-sized series formatted specifically for mobile devices, i.e. the phrase ‘vertical’ as in the vertical screen on your smart phone.

According The Hollywood Reporter “For the uninitiated, the phase “vertical short drama” refers to series shot with a vertical rather than horizontal orientation so they can more easily be viewed on smartphones.”

“Usually, the vertical series come in batches of 70-odd short scenes lasting one or two minutes, and they are increasingly finding a global audience, drawn — like audiences in China — to quick, oversimplified stories of love, wealth, betrayal and revenge, sometimes featuring mythical creatures like vampires and werewolves.”

New Microdrama The Golden Pear Affair

It makes sense that companies are churning out bite-sized soaps for phone viewing since consumers are eschewing traditional entertainment pathways such as the theater, TV and computers for their smartphones.

The medium is estimated to hit $11 billion globally in 2025. According to Digiday “46% of microdramas viewers are between the ages of 18-34.

Given that demographics tendency to use mobile apps, particularly platforms that prioritize short-form content, it’s not surprising Procter & Gamble is looking to invest in programming that meets them where they are.

But in doing so, they’re also likely to pull in older audiences as well by catering to soap fans. 41% of microdrama viewers are between the ages of 35-54, with 13% of this format’s audience being 55-64.”

The Golden Pear Affair Is a Native Campaign

Viewers of The Golden Pear Affair will get 50 episodes described as adventure-romance that, wait for it, focus on the fragrances of the P&G Native product line: deodorants, moisturizers, hand soaps, and shampoos.

The Golden Pear Affair stars actors known for their work in the microsoap format, Aloyna Real and Nick Ritacco. The storyline features a woman betrothed to a crime boss and the teaser pic is reminiscent of a bodice buster with a Mediterranean flair.

This is the tease: “Every scent hides a secret.”

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and the above description sounds exactly like a commercial. When asked about this, Jonas Barnes, the founder of Pixie USA, said: “What’s really important is making the product part of the story where it’s instrumental and not just on the table. Or the character picking it up and saying, ‘Look what I got.’”

So, in product speak, let the buyer beware, and judge The Golden Pear Affair for yourself.

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