• by John Gaffney , March 27, 2003

As the TV upfront negotiations get underway these next weeks, bet that the issue of product placement is still a hot topic. You can also bet that opinions on its effectiveness and consumer perception are as varied as they have ever been.

On one hand, some buyers feel that consumers are beginning to feel duped by product placements integrated into shows, such as the Coke and Ford placements in the American Idol final. Other key players say product placement is one of the sure fire ways to make sure a brand message doesn't get TiVoed - or skipped over by other consumer choices.

"It may be more important this year," said Marc Schiller CEO of marketing consulting and placement firm Electric Artists. "It becomes difficult when a brand is looking for a broad CPM buy and you try to factor product placement into it. Product placement is very hard to scale."

That may be the reason that "Live From Tomorrow," the commercial-free program scheduled to run on the WB has been delayed. Product placements have worked well as part of larger ad campaigns, in some cases. They have not provided a scale of their own yet. Example: no brand has ever pitched product placement first and their commercial commitment second.

Placements in sports and other event shows can be pulled off with more subtlety, say industry observers. Sitcoms and drama shows make it tougher to execute without seeming to be obvious. Subtlety is the factor, even after the Fox-style "in your face" approach." In fact, Horizon Media CEO Bill Koenigsberg believes that consumers have reached a threshold with product placement.

"I've seen research that says consumers feel they're being tricked by product placements," he said. "The key here is to make them much more subtle. There's still room to be very creative with the use of them. In fact, I think you'll see more subtle uses in many different kinds of TV shows."

Court TV marketing VP Evan Shapiro agrees. "I don't disagree that the consumer may be feeling duped. There's a way to do it right. It has to be organic. If Swiffers are on a TLC show on home improvement, great. We don't allow product placements within shows themselves. But we will do wraps. We have a show called Saturday Night Solution and we will do placement within the wraps before and after the commercial breaks. But not on the screen of the movies themselves."