As TV viewers turn off adverts, Hollywood seizes a golden chance

[T_i_B]

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article324930.ece

On a recent episode of an American sci-fi show about alien abduction, The 4400, a group of characters go out for a few beers to toast an old war comrade they have just buried. They remember fondly how they used to drink Budweiser together by the crate. One of the mourners raises his can, which also happens to be a Bud. In fact, the whole table is covered in Budweiser.

"Look at this can," the character says, as the camera zooms in. "It's just like it was back then." Is this entertainment, or a shameless product plug? Either way, it could be the wave of the future in Britain now that the European Union is loosening hitherto strict rules on product placement - or, as it is euphemistically known in US marketing speak, "brand integration".

Product placement is a bargain that has everything to do with commerce and nothing to do with art. Producers acquire free props and, often, significant financial help. In exchange, advertisers can count on the undistracted attention of their target audience. It's become common practice in the United States now that audiences, especially television audiences, have so many better things to do with their time than sit and watch commercials. The advent of TiVo, a recording system that allows the viewer to skip adverts altogether, has been a particularly big spur.

Hence the profusion of mentions, from the casual to the clunky, of Pepperidge Farm biscuits on Frasier, of the hi-tech company Cisco on the counter-terrorism drama 24, of Amazon.com's search engine A9.com on the teen drama The OC.

[itzamirakul]

1. To the best of my ability I can't recall seeing a tv program that so

blatantly advertises a product as the one you describe above. But thanks for pointing out the practice.

[Sal Minella]

2. Tobacco (cigarettes especially) appears in movies WAY more

than common sense would dictate -- "That Winslow Boy" was one in which all the characters performed in gray clouds of cigarette smoke, and "Spitfire Grill" was another -- the movie company whose logo is Lady Liberty and Pegasus side by side, that one's the worst.

The perky, bright young characters smoke like chimneys. I do not believe this is in the original scripts.

[ClintonTyree]

3. I'm positive it's going to be the future of advertising.

So many people TiVo shows, tape them, record them on DVDs and then zap through the commercials. Even while watching I'll hit the "mute" button when the advertisements start. Most are too stupid to watch and offend my senses. I don't know who they think they're reaching with these ads, but I can't imagine them working to any great extent even with a seriously dumbed down population. :shrug:

[Voltaire99]

4. Silly Hollywood: we're turning off *your* product, too.

Not much danger of product placement showing up in a Michael Haneke or Takashi Miike film. :-)

[C_U_L8R]

5. You can hear the boo's

Hamfisted product placement and overmarketing
is seriously pissing consumers off. I've sat though
tons of movies where the audience booed the
over-done or obvious shill. As they should.

This is NOT the future of advertising... it's a fad
and not a very effective fad at that. If you
really get down to it... it's an extravagent waste
of money. Yeah, you get product placement...
and "slight" association with a "possibly" cool film.
Guess what.. that doesn't really sell a lot of product..
especially if the film is Gigli.