EU to permit Product Placement on TV

http://media.guardian.co.uk/advertising/story/0,,1666882,00.html


The EU has cleared the way for TV companies to allow product placement in their programmes.

Companies will be able to pay for the inclusion of their products in programming - though news, childrens and documentaries are exempt. Tobacco and prescription drugs are prevented from product placing.


That's fine IMO - I doubt you'd really notice it. However, just in case you don't the EU insist that an announcement at the beginning of programmes mentions any company paying for the inclusion of their products. This is the bit which I think could be more intrusive, and could cause problems with traditional TV sponsorship.


As I said before I doubt most viewers would really notice the inclusion of products within standard comedy, drama and soap. It could benefit things like Big Brother, which instead of having to tape over all the labels could just get Tescos to pay them for providing their shopping!

I think simple product placement (i.e. just having a branded product visible on screen) will add more realism. It would be much more natural for the set of the Rovers Return to have t-bars featuring real beers, and for customers to order something which actually exists, rather than them being supplied by a fictional brewery and 99% of male customers asking for 'a pint'. Similarly, if Mark Fowler was still in Eastenders it would be more natural for him to order a bottle of bud/becks/whatever than asking for a 'bottle of beer'.
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BBC guidelines for product placement will remain in place; I imagine there'll be only a very slight relaxation of the guidelines for contextual realism in only the most appropriate circumstances, though I wouldn't expect to hear Big Mo ordering a Baileys or Martin ordering a Stella too often. For obvious reasons, the BBC can't be seen to give any favour to any particular brands during their programming.

Does this mean that ITV2 won't have to blur out the oh so obvious Coca-Cola logos from the next series of American Idol?

I assume the BBC's guidelines were actually made stricter sometime in the last 10 years - I remember in old episodes of Men Behaving Badly, they were always drinking cans of Stella at home whereas towards the end of the show it looked like someone had gone out and bought a lager variety pack!

I suppose that would depend on whether ITV will be getting anything for having Coca-Cola on their channel.

Products are allowed in programmes, but companies can't pay to have their products on programmes.

Lately though it seems to have been a bit stricter on UK TV, with things like logos on T-shirts being blurred / taped over - something I'd often seen on US programmes for years, but not here until a couple of years ago.

Yes, is'nt it Fox who make the deal with Coca Cola? But it wouldn't apply over here unless ITV and Coca Cola struck a deal, I believe.

I've seen this a few times and taping over a logo or bluring is annoying - personally it draws my attention to it..

The thing is if ITV didn't blur our the Coca-Cola glasses you probably wouldn't even notice they were there. The blurring draws attention to them.

US imports are full of product placements, but I can't say that as a casual viewer I spot them. The example always referred to in articles is every car in Desperate Housewives being a Ford. That certainly didn't register with me when watching it!

Noooooo!

This will mean an end to my favourite Rovers Return drink......Stelberg!!

Thats what i mean, I've seen an episode of Sex and the City and Carrie is drinking something from McDonalds in the park - I only remember this because the cup was blured..

I've not paid too much attention to the cars in DH..