This show is brought to you by whoever paid the most
If you suddenly start noticing offkilter storylines, then you will know you’re being played.
OPINION: Product placement has been around as long as film and television shows have been in existence and it’s generally harmless enough.
But as viewers use technology to fast-forward through paid advertisements, companies are working harder to build their products into shows in a way we can’t avoid.
And cash-strapped TV companies and filmmakers are ever more desperate for the revenue it brings in.
Although I have no problem with product placement per se, I am drawing the line at companies buying into the actual storyline.
That’s a step too far in getting in my viewing, and my headspace, in trying to manipulate me to buy products.
In late January, in the United States, a ground-breaking step was taken when Procter & Gamble paid for a plot line in an episode of the hit US sitcom Black-ish. The plot line saw the show’s family talk about a Proctor & Gamble advertising campaign that addressed the issue of racism.
Meanwhile, it’s just been announced that the king of product placement – James Bond – will be back with a 25th film in November 2019, and a big chunk of the production budget is coming from brand sponsors.
Back in 1963 the first Bond film, Dr No, had a modest four brands associated with 007.
By the time it got to Skyfall in 2012, there were 33 brands productplaced throughout the film; in
2015’s Spectre it had dropped back to a mere 27.
No-one will ever know how much brands pay to place their wares in Bond movies, but there are rumours that beer company Heineken paid $45 million to have
007 swig its brew in Skyfall, money the filmmakers reinvest in taking Bond to the next level in look, luxury and complexity.
Just think what companies will pay to get talked about by Bond.
At the other end of the cool scale: ITV’s traditionally quite logo-free Coronation Street has just announced it will be opening branded Co-op and Costa coffee outlets on ‘‘The Street’’ after ITV signed what it said was its biggest product placement deal to date.
With ITV reporting a 9 per cent fall in advertising revenue in the first three-quarters of last year, it’s not hard to see the pressure coming on for the company to find new revenue streams.
It’s not like it doesn’t happen in New Zealand. Our longest-running soap opera, Shortland Street , is notorious for its product placement.
Reality television shows like The Block NZ, New Zealand’s Got Talent and MasterChef New Zealand have long been inserting products in the shows and working them into scripts.
But there’s got to be a line, surely, between placing product and shoe-horning naff sales pitches into actual storylines of dramas, films and events.
Sports fans were recently groaning as commentators on the Burger King-sponsored Super Smash Twenty20 cricket series referred to big-hits as ‘‘whoppers’’ and – a particularly low point – described one boundary-busting hit as a ‘‘whopper with fries and a drink’’.
I’m dreading the day I’m watching Bond sitting around with Q discussing whether the best life insurance policy would be with AA or Cigna? Or Miss Moneypenny discussing with M the best blend strength of Nespresso coffee to keep you alert during a long night waiting to hear from the elusive Bond.
Cleverly done product placement shouldn’t disturb our viewing. If you suddenly start noticing off-kilter storylines and painful product references, then you will know you’re being played.
❚ Sue Allen has worked in journalism, communications, marketing and brand management for 15 years.