TV Product Placement Effectiveness and Ethics
British Placement Ban Stirs Uniform Logo & Program Selection Issues
Mar 15, 2009
By extending a ban on paid product placements in television shows, Minister Andy Burnham angered Pact and other British commercial broadcasting interests struggling with a 20% decline in advertising. Industry officials threatened legal action to remove the ban.
Pact, the association of independent producers, estimated product placements "would inject more than £72m into the UK television market in the short-term."
However, in announcing the ban in March 2009, Burnham said there was "a lack of evidence" that the industry would reap economic benefits from the product placements. He said he would support other efforts to assist the industry, but would "consider all other avenues before allowing product placement."
Culture Minister Protecting British Broadcasting Standards
The Culture Minister told BBC that his priority "has always been to make sure we maintain levels of trust between audiences and broadcasters, and protect the standards of broadcasting for which Britain is known worldwide."
His refusal to lift the ban on the placements received considerable support in British Internet comments. One writer expressed fear that the availability, or lack thereof, of product placements will eventually determine which shows are produced.
Tobacco Industry Support for "Mad Men"?
Would tobacco manufacturers, for instance, be tempted to quietly encourage the production of shows such as "Mad Men," where the heavy smoking of the 1960s can easily be justified as realistic? It would not be the first time that industry has tried to indirectly promote smoking.
Burnham’s ban keeps Britain out of step with the United States and European television programming. It was reviewed only to comply with a 2007 European Parliament directive which allows limited product placement on TV.
In the United States, product placements have grown into a multimillion dollar industry. Some agencies specialize in negotiating the showing of products or logos within movies or television programs. The business has grown rapidly since video recorders made it possible for viewers to easily fast forward through commercials. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering tougher disclosure notices for broadcast programs.
Ban Does Not Affect Video on Demand
Viviane Reding, the European commissioner for information, society and media, said she was "astonished" by Burnham’s decision because it discriminates against European products that compete with American products shown in American-made programs.
The British ban has generated charges of hypocrisy because it does not affect:
- Video-on-demand programs;
- Product placements on American-made television programs shown on British television;
Logos on Player Uniforms
The ban also does not control the use of logos on player uniforms seen in television sports coverage. Mark Lawson wrote in The Guardian that the performers seen on both BBC and British commercial television, as well as American TV, are "walking billboards" for products, especially in auto racing and professional golf.
Lawson said "the most common objection to product placement is that it's a form of subliminal advertising," but added the placements are now too well recognized as "huckstering intrusions" to be subliminal. He said movie audiences groan at the sight of them, casting "doubt on how effective they are at all."
Pact has proposed a generic symbol be placed on television screens to advise viewers whenever a brand is being plugged in a program. It said the symbol could be "similar to that which is used for parental guidance."
The symbol might not be required for promoting a generic product such as tobacco.
References:
- "Product Placements on TV Ruled Out," BBC.com, 3-11-09
- "One of my childhood memories," by Mark Lawson, The Guardian, 3-12-09
America's Television Product Placement Rules
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