• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, February 6, 2007

As product placement continues to expand its reach into prime time--particularly reality shows--ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" offers marketers among the most desirable of venues.

The logic is simple: The series is all about transforming an underprivileged or struggling family's life with a dream home to fit their passions and special needs. Research shows that viewers tend to notice and appreciate marketers that assist in such altruistic endeavors.

To be sure, the show is not for the cynical. It can be cloying. Each week, the cast of designers (high-energy Ty Pennington and company) leading the makeover process can seem better-suited to rousing a home crowd at a sporting event. At the same time, the plight of the needy families can sometimes tip into melodrama.

What saves it is a touching portrayal of a deserving group, coupled with the resulting delivery of a life-changing abode as well as other perks.

Pizza peddler Papa John's supplied such a perk on the Jan. 21 episode.

In that episode, the Riggins family of Raleigh, N.C.--wife Linda suffers from arthritis and husband William is legally blind--was chosen for the makeover of a lifetime. Not only did the family live in a dilapidated home, but there was the subtext of the needy helping the needy.

Despite her own challenges, Linda soldiered on and gave back to the community, via her work at a local ministry helping other needy families.

The "Extreme Makeover" team tore down and spectacularly rebuilt the Riggins' home--and they gave the Building Together Ministries community center a makeover.

Enter Papa John's--literally.

As the renovated center was unveiled, the company's chairman and namesake John Schnatter showed up and offered the staff and kids a year's supply of pizza--$10,000 worth. (It was one of the top product placements of the week, according to measurement firm iTVX.)

Before John made his home delivery, the series gave Papa John's some of the standard brand-integration staples: a billboard announcing the marketer was a sponsor and a shot of a company 18-wheeler pulling up.

But the extra-special sauce--the scene that gave Papa John's the marketing boon it was looking for--came as Schnatter made the announcement of the donation. The staff and kids in the center burst into wild celebration. Cheering and ample shots of happy faces and kids eating the pizza followed. Adults embraced and danced.

The brand integration came off enough that Schnatter and his fellow executives probably felt like doing the same.