Product Placement on UK TV

[bacon]

Ofcom now allows product placement on UK TV.

http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2011/02/product-placement-on-tv/

What's your opinion?

 

[Wol]

I've had product placement on TV for years now. It's called the adverts

To be honest, the BBC aren't jumping on it, and the other channels have had various products in them for a while now. Just now you don't have to turn all the jars the right way, so rather than me going "aaah, i spy a hellmans jar in the cupboard" just by how it looks I can go "aaaah. I spy a hellmans jar"....

If people want to give money to promote their products then fair enough. That's up to them. I doubt that the writers or anything are going to change the storylines completely because of it.

Might go and watch Evolution now. I vaguely recall they had a MAHUSSIVE product placement at the end of the film

 

[bacon]

To be honest, the BBC aren't jumping on it

Yes, the BBC aren't allowed to take money for product placement as they're the BBC.

and the other channels have had various products in them for a while now.

Also I don't think just showing products counts as product placement unless it's been paid for.

 

[Wol]

Also I don't think just showing products counts as product placement unless it's been paid for.

to the end user, what difference is there between me seeing a product thats there, or me seeing a product that someones paid to have there?

Thats a genuine question by the way. I've not looked into it that deeply so dont know if theres anything underneath which is a major difference.

 

[bacon]

I think it's more likely to be noticeable in what's heard rather than what's seen.
Characters will start mentioning products by brand name and having favourite brands of products rather than using generic terms.

 

[thatbloke]

I have precisely no issue with it whatsoever. I consider it a MUCH less intrusive form of advertising than the ad-breaks that split up the TV programs themselves. In some ways it can be used to aid realism too.

Pretty much any American-made movie and also a number of TV shows nowadays have a large amount of product placement in them, and people over here have never really started moaning before...

There is a line that can be crossed, for instance, let's say Nokia paid to plant their phones in a movie, if the characters then started saying things like "I'm going to use my Nokia mobile phone to make this call" then that's too far. Simply having the objects in view, likely with a prominent logo is enough.

 

[bacon]

Brings to mind things like this

 

[thatbloke]

I think it's more likely to be noticeable in what's heard rather than what's seen.
Characters will start mentioning products by brand name and having favourite brands of products rather than using generic terms.

On that note: Radio 1 DJ Greg James did a thing on his show a few weeks ago where he played a clip from Eastenders.

The clip had someone saying the following: "Is it ok to set up my games console upstairs?"

He then got people to text in certain "generic" phrases... but I digress.

I would consider that quote to be more weird than someone saying "Is it ok to set up my Xbox upstairs?" After all, a show like Eastenders is (although regularly taken to extremes) meant to be showing "real" people's lives on a day-to-day basis. Adding that small amount of extra realism might make people have more of an attachment to it.

 

[Wol]

Or the thing on top gear with james may talking about the "orange filled biscuit cake thing which we cant use the name for but everyone knows its a jaffa cake"

The use of these "generic" terms does make it sound more stupid in the long run!

 

[Ki!ler-Mk1]

With ability to pause live tv, and fast forward the adverts or, like me, stop watching live tv all together and just watch prior recordings and skip adverts, if this method of advertising, generates revenue that allows television to continue as it always has, then it is a good thing, as adverts wont work forever, now, if i see adverts i hit record and change channel/watch pre recorded.

But if no one watched the adverts then channels wouldnt make money and programs wouldnt be shown, except on the bbc.


I, does love, me, commas,!

 

[Ki!ler-Mk1]

Dont know how to thumbnail that mod me plox.

I saw this the other day any didnt know what it was, think it was in outcasts.



Also, do gun names count as products, as i am sure i have seen guns being called by their names in fiction before.

 

[Panda with issues...]

With ability to pause live tv, and fast forward the adverts or, like me, stop watching live tv all together and just watch prior recordings and skip adverts, if this method of advertising, generates revenue that allows television to continue as it always has, then it is a good thing, as adverts wont work forever, now, if i see adverts i hit record and change channel/watch pre recorded.

But if no one watched the adverts then channels wouldnt make money and programs wouldnt be shown, except on the bbc.


I, does love, me, commas,!

Very fair point.

Also, do gun names count as products, as i am sure i have seen guns being called by their names in fiction before.

Probably not, since you can't exactly go out and buy one at the supermarket.