Product placement isn't coming! Product placement isn't coming!
A year ago, the European Union gave the go-ahead for a product placement invasion. But it was
left to each country to determine whether to allow it within its borders.
No way in the U.K. was the word Wednesday. The culture secretary put the kibosh on it, in part because of "very
serious concerns about blurring the boundaries between advertising and editorial," according to Ad Age.
Reporter Emma Hall wrote that the secretary's position may have been in line
with the feelings of British viewers--who "are traditionally suspicious of product placement, often deriding it as a clumsy, unsophisticated commercial tool."
"But," she went on, "the truth is
that British TV is riddled with clumsy brand avoidance."
A comment from a top Mindshare executive followed: "When you see people on TV pouring cornflakes and it's a made-up brand, it takes
away from the entertainment."
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It sounds hyperbolic, but there is some truth. Product placement has begat the need for more product placement.
It has become so prevalent that when a
brand-less product is seen in a show--a blank cereal box, for sure--the sheer ludicrousness tends to give the viewer pause. And that can chip away at a show's integrity.
Could a marketer ask
for more? Something that benefits them--so much that the U.K. isn't going for it and some U.S. regulators want it banned--may actually give rise to a legitimate argument that it serves a purpose.
Nonetheless, that can be a double-edged sword. If a viewer expects a cereal box to be Cheerios, they in fact may be less likely to notice that it is Cheerios.
It may feel too natural.
A recent example came in an episode of USA's spy drama "Burn Notice." Two characters were seeking entry to a place so secure that keys had no purpose, only an approved handprint would work.
So, the pair pursued a version.
In a cafeteria, they waited for a man to finish eating and then toss his Diet Mountain Dew can in the trash. It was retrieved and then rolled in
cellophane--to produce a successful handprint copy.
The scene brought Diet Dew some exposure (one of the top product placements of the week, according to measurement firm iTVX). There were
several camera shots of the green can (that came from the can, as it were).
And moving on, one character facetiously asked the other if he wanted a sip. "He left a little," she said--adding
with faux enticement: "It's Diet Mountain Dew..."
It was pretty standard fare for product placement, some close-ups and an audio mention where producers went out of their way not to stretch
credulity.
And therein was a potential issue for the Dew marketing team. Spending any more than the cost of a 24-pack may have been close to futile.
The integration felt almost too
natural. And when things feel like they belong, they don't get (burn-)noticed nearly as much.
Product
| Show | Q-Ratio |
Lacoste | Independent Spirit Awards | 3.1717 |
Green Giant Valley Fresh | The Biggest Loser | 3.0344 |
People Magazine | True Beauty | 2.3787 |
Ziploc | The Biggest Loser | 1.2030 |
Diet Mountain Dew | Burn Notice | 0.4663 |
Click
here to view these placements.Data and analysis provided by iTVX.