• NY Times, Tuesday, January 17, 2006 11:30 AM

The trend by marketers toward product placement and product integration in television programming is increasingly the target of critics who claim the tactic is getting out of hand. Perhaps the most vocal group against the practice is the Writers Guild of America, West, a union representing writers in the movie and broadcast industry, which has demanded a code of conduct for producers that requires the disclosure of advertising deals through clear disclaimers at the start of programs. Failing that, they will seek increased federal regulation to prevent what they call subliminal, stealth ads. Union President Patric Verrone says his group is also concerned that viewers need to understand the difference between product placement and integration. "Product placement is simply putting a branded box of cereal on the kitchen table in a show," Mr. Verrone said in a telephone interview. "Product integration is having the characters talk about the crunchy deliciousness of the cereal or provoking them to go out and tell their neighbors to buy that cereal."

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