Product Integration on Television Grows More Popular with Advertisers Thanks to Tivo

Have you ever watched a movie and saw one of the main characters holding a can of his favorite soft drink or working on a particular brand of computer?

I’m sure that you have, this is called product placement and it’s as common in the movie industry as a cold is to humans. This is a form of advertising that is less intrusive than a traditional advertisement and is weaved into the movie to appear seamless.

Examples of successful product placement endeavors include the James Bond movie series; ever notice the trend that it sets for the car that appears in the movie? , What about the movie “Smokey and the Bandit”, the Pontiac Trans Am that was placed in that movie helped to drastically increase sales of Tran Am’s, one other example is “Back to the Future”, famous for the major Pepsi push.

Product Placement in movies didn’t really start picking up steam until the mid 1980’s and it hasn’t slowed down yet. But the movie industry doesn’t have a strangle hold on this form of advertising, it has become popular on television as well.

With the introduction of Tivo advertisers have scouted around for other ways to send their message to their target audience and they found it. Product integration in television shows has become common, the advertisers product is also weaved into the script and shown not as an intrusion but as a part of the scene.

Popular shows like “The Apprentice” which features Yahoo at the end of each episode and “American Idol” which features Coke as the drink that the judges just love, Ford and of course AT&T wireless, which the host Ryan Seacrest makes mention of when the callers have to call in to vote for their favorite contestant. Even the Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton show “The Simple Life” features the T-Mobile Sidekick, did you think that it was just a coincidence?.

Product integration can be found in several popular shows, and with viewers having more control of what they watch with Tivo it forces advertisers to be more innovative to capture the attention of their target market.

Video Games have become popular for advertisers as well, they are beginning to use the popularity of video games to send their messages out, an example is the “Grand Theft Auto” video game series. Music has also been known for having product placement included in the lyrics, ever hear of “Take me out to the Ballgame”?

Now the question that always comes into play when someone hears about product placement is how much does it cost, now that all depends on the deal that is struck. There is no set number in regards to product placement deals and not all deals involved monetary compensation. So that is always done on a case by case basis, just to give you an idea of cost in a popular show, sponsors of “American Idol” have been said to pay upwards of $20 million plus to have their logos prominently displayed during the show and on their website.

Now is this to say that an advertiser can expect to pay millions or dollars to take part in a product placement deal? That would all depend on the show and the deal that is negotiated.

So the next time you are watching a television show or a movie, or even listening to a song, keep your ears and eyes open and look for the product integration, you are sure to find plenty.

Louis Victor
New Age Media Concepts
888-463-9237
March 2 2005