A New Look for Product Placement
The era of logo-slapping is over. Today it's all about taking a more subtle approach
Los Angeles Times, by Adam Tschorn, May 15, 2011
A February episode of "Glee" put a song-and-dance number inside a Gap store
(Youtube.com / May 15, 2011)
In a Feb. 3 episode of "Bones," Brennan demonstrates her Toyota's adaptive cruise control to Booth. A few days later, on "Glee," Santana shows Puck a jewelry box, and tells him it contains a ring from Jared jewelers. A Nielsen study will later find these are two of the 10 most-remembered product placements on TV dramas and sitcoms in the month of February, joining a list that includes Ugg boots, Apple computers and Vicodin.
Product placement — the practice of inserting merchandise into entertainment for publicity value — is not only alive and well, but thanks to innovations such as DVR technology, which allows viewers to skip traditional commercials altogether, it's a bigger business than ever. Spending for product placement in movies, TV and video games more than tripled to $3.6 billion from 2004 to 2009, according to research firm PQ Media. The use — and disclosure — of product placement was reported to be an issue in the protracted negotiations that pushed the return of AMC's "Mad Men" into 2012, and the next installment of the James Bond franchise — long an unabashed showcase for all kinds of product placement — will reportedly be funded to the tune of $45 million by brands appearing in the film.
But, according to experts, the traditional in-your-face style of product placement can backfire with today's consumer. Simply exposing a brand to viewers — particularly things like clothing, accessories and jewelry that may not be as instantly recognizable as the swirl of the Coca-Cola can on the "American Idol" judges' table — is no longer enough.
Frank Zazza, founder and chief executive of iTVX, a consulting firm that measures the value of product placement, explains. "If I'm on the screen wearing an Armani suit and I say, 'I have an Armani suit on,' or 'Hey, doesn't Armani make a great suit,' you're going to realize what's going on and your mind will reject it the same way it rejects traditional commercials or [email] spam. It's what's known as 'cognitive rejection.'"
Which means, according to Zazza, "the era of logo-slapping is over. These days it's more about a brand's essence and its character — and those things are written right into the script but without mentioning the brand by name at all."
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A New Look for Product Placement, Los Angeles Times
