Product Placement - FCC

Product placement has become a major strategy for television advertising. The invention of Tivo's and DVRs and other similar techonologies has placed the power into the hands of the viewer. Don't want to watch a commercial? Just fast forward! So brands have moved to putting their products in the show itself. This is one marketing strategy that I applaud. It makes the show more realistic if done correctly. Notice the disclaimer. Some shows do let it affect the quality of the show itself. There are also a few ethical issues with product placement. The viewer may not always realise that it is a paid advertisement, especially if the show is targeted to a younger demographic.

Haleykish over at Everybody goes to Haleywood highlighted a move by the FCC that could greatly affect product placements in the future.

Possibly coming to televisions across the nation: stronger warnings that the Cokes, Oreos and Sidekicks flaunted by actors have bought their way onto your favorite show.

That’s what the Federal Communications Commission signaled yesterday when it said it would review new rules on how television programmers let viewers know when those “props” are really paid pitches.

FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin said product placements and integration into story lines have increased as television viewers increasingly use recording devices like TiVo and DVRs to fast forward through commercials. Currently, agency’s rules require television programmers to disclose sponsors who have embedded products into shows. Those disclosures typically are done during the credits at the end of the show, which fly by viewers in small script.

“We want to make sure consumers understand and are aware that they are being advertised to,” said Martin, who first pushed to clarify disclosure rules last fall. “We ask how we should update our rules to reflect current trends in the industry.”

I will definitely be watching to see what moves the FCC makes.

Product Placement « “Everybody goes to Haleywood”.

This article also crossposted at http://aheismann.wordpress.com

"Consumers are like Roaches...."

Are we growing immune to the advertisements we see every day? They are everywhere we look. Billboards down the side of the highways, in the junk mail we receive every day, on nearly every page of the internet. Product placement advertisements are in the shows and movies we watch every day. Advertisements may even be on your clothing. Ever worn a shirt with a company's logo on it? So what does it take to make consumers pay attention to a product? And what happens when advertising can no longer get our attention?

It's something to think about, and I don't pretend to have the answers. I would, however like to recommend a video series first recommended to me by one of my Professors. It's about 4 years old but a very well done series on PBS. I encourage anyone interested in advertising to take a look. Just note that Song was reabsorbed into Delta in 2006.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/

Burrito, Big Burrito

Imagine building an entire marketing campaign around one signature product. With lines such as "Burrito? or Body pillow?" and "Burrito's so big they should be called Burros" one company has done just that. Created in 1993 Chipotle (pronounced chi-POAT-lay) has grown to more than 500 stores, across the United States.

I had been doing research for a McDonald's project, and remembered that McDonald owned shares in Chipotle, which of course led me over to their site. Once there, their ads called to me. 149 ads using a burrito and a tag line. And no, I don't mean 149 ads showing different types of burritos with glamor shots of the ingredients. I mean 149 ads showing the same simple silver wrapped burrito as above.

The image that comes to my mind is a scene of a conference room with the entire marketing staff sitting around it. In the middle of the table sits the burrito. Then, they are asked to come up with as many tag lines as possible. No idea is pushed out as being horrible. This leads to such great lines as, "Donde esta la casa de big-ass burritos?" and "It's like one of those Freaky dreams where everything is really big." What amazes me about Chipotle is that they are so on target with their target market, the 18-24 year old category.

With everything from t-shirts to a burrito costume contest, Chipotle easily portrays a fun environment with good quality food. Even their website conveys this. When you go to visit the ads area (and I highly suggest you do) their icons fall down like Tetris tiles! So far as I can tell, the smallest detail has not been overlooked. The one bad press thing I've heard about Chipotle is that they are tied to McDonald's.

Ta Da 2.0

It has finally arrived.... My second attempt at a business blog. Since I enjoy the Ad industry so much, I thought I would dedicate an entire blog just to critiques of the latest ads.

One professor in particular has inspired me to enjoy the world of advertising. So many thanks to Professor Bennett! He continues to inspire students daily as he teaches Integrated Marketing Communications.

For a little about me... I'm particularly interested in Marketing, more specifically E-Commerce Marketing (sometimes called e-marketing). I am a recent graduate from the University of Missouri - Columbia.

I'm always looking for new writing material, so if you have a lead on the newest ad feel free to let me know. I'll start off this blog with a few posts about previous ad campaigns I've enjoyed.