Today’s edition of the Wall Street Journal includes an article reporting that product placements are going to get FCC scrutiny. It’s one each of us in the marketing business should read and a developing story we should follow, because it could have a big impact on both paid and unpaid product placements going forward.
With more consumers using digital recorders to fast forward their way through TV spots, product placements are on a significant rise to reach them within programming. The WSJ article reports that Nielson Co. found product placements are up 40 percent in the first quarter alone on broadcast TV shows and that spending on paid product placements is up 33.7 percent from a year ago.
The FCC is expected to start a formal look at new requirements for product placement disclosure. New rules could completely change the product placement game for advertisers and PR folks, depending on the outcome of the FCC’s rule review. One of the biggest recommendations for the tool is to think of it as product integration. The product should show up contextually, relevantly and become part of the story. Anything too promotional becomes a distraction to viewers and typically turns them off. So imagine what may happen the next time you’re watching “The Office.” Those prominently placed HP computer monitors may require a flashing bubble across the bottom to make sure you know that HP provided them.
This is also big news for those on the TV side of the fence. I’ve received calls from several producers who work on reality shows asking if a client would like to provide free products in return for recognition in the credits. It’s one way they look to cut back on expenses and fall under their budgets.
What do you think about product placements? Do you think the FCC is going too far or do you think it needs to reign in the dramatic growth of what some are calling “stealth advertising?”
(Thanks to my friend Maria Lachapelle for pointing me to the WSJ article!)
I think the FCC is going too far. They are making the assumption that consumers are stupid and don’t realize that every single product on their favorite program has been bought and paid for by an advertiser. Of course consumers know that…they just don’t care.
Allow me for a moment to take off my marketer hat and put on my consumer hat. I like to see popular brands used in my favorite shows and movies. It adds to the fantasy to have the characters interact with the same brands I use each day. I hate it when I’m watching General Hospital and Luke Spencer takes a swig of generic scotch (maybe I shouldn’t have confessed my love of soaps on this blog–too late). Putting in some type of disclaimer to appease the FCC will simply interrupt the experience and jolt me back into the over-regulated world I was so desperately trying to escape.
For the sake of our clients and our own desire to stay entrenched in the fantasy, I say we fight back and protest this last bastion of advertising subtlety.
“I like to see popular brands used in my favorite shows and movies.”
Great insight, Dana. That’s actually one of the best things about product placements because many of us want to see that. It adds to the context and seeming realness of the television show. I want to see Jim Halpert interacting with the same brands I do. It adds to the TV experience.
And thanks for confessing your soap opera guilty pleasure. Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell anyone.