Product placement, the subtle (or not so subtle in some cases) promotion of products in non-traditional ad spaces such as film, television and radio, is set to grace UK TV from 28 February onwards. Brace yourself.
The British public, who are largely film and US sitcom junkies, are not complete strangers to product placement – think Sex and the City and Jimmy Choo, James Bond and Aston Martin or – going a little ‘old skool’ here – Knight Rider and his Pontiac Trans Am.
However, when it comes to UK television, at present brands can only be featured in a programme if they have not paid for the service – ie, giving away their products to be used as ‘props’. This is a fairly rare occurrence which leaves us with little experience of brands featuring heavily in British broadcasting and a fear of the impending changes.
For those of you who have visions of Coronation Street turning into a Trueman Show-esque parody of itself with Rita Sullivan extolling the virtues of Fairy Liquid – do not panic! Ofcom has an excellent set of rules in place which should ensure that product placement will not adversely affect the quality of a programme’s editorial.
We live in a world full of brands, so to see someone on TV using a non-brand laptop or mobile phone seems incredibly unrealistic
Exemptions
Other Ofcom rules include the prohibition of product placement for fatty, salty and sugary food and drink, baby milk, medicine, tobacco, alcohol, gambling and weaponry to name just a few. In addition the BBC, children’s, news, current affairs, consumer affairs and religious programmes will be free of paid placements.
As an extra layer of caution Ofcom have also created a product placement logo which will have to appear after ad breaks and at both the beginning and end of all programmes which contain product placements.
With all of these precautions in place I could be persuaded to say that product placement may be a good thing, although, I will admit that as a marketer I am biased. For one thing, we live in a world full of brands, so to see someone on TV using a non-brand laptop or mobile phone seems incredibly unrealistic.
Add in carefully considered product placements and the result will be realistic, seamless and generally unnoticed by viewers. However, it is exactly this seamless and subliminal form of advertising that has groups such as the Voice of the Listener and Viewer concerned, as they feel it will result in the manipulation of vulnerable people.
But in my mind, adverts which portray celebrities and sports personalities actively promoting products are much more damaging in this respect.
From the Advertising Industry’s point of view, this will definitely be welcome news. With so many people (including myself) now fast forwarding through adverts thanks to the likes of Sky, Virgin and Freeview, brands need an alternative and, let’s be honest, less irritating way to get their message across. Cue product placement with its subtle (we hope) ability to raise brand awareness for certain products.
Whether you’re excited, not vaguely bothered or dreading 28 February, the fact is that product placement is heading to a television set near you. I think it’s going to be interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing what companies take the plunge first. Let’s just hope that script writers take into consideration the inscription on Apollo’s temple in Delphi: “Moderation in all things.”
PS: fact of the day – in the late 1930s the press dubbed daytime radio serial dramas ‘soap operas’ as so many were sponsored by soap manufacturers like Proctor & Gamble.
