How Much is Too Much Product Placement?

With the increasing popularity of watching shows over the Internet or on a DVR, consumers are opting not to watch as many commercials. And considering there are more commercials per hour of programming, advertisers are losing millions of ad views per week by potential target audience members. That’s why product placement is more popular today than ever before.

Whether it’s the “American Idol” judges sitting behind their desk with their favorite beverage in front of them:

or one character on “Chuck” bringing another his lunch order:

product placement is all over the television. I don’t think that’s really a bad thing. Brand images are everywhere. I hate watching a TV show and seeing the brand emblem on a car blanked out, as though consumers don’t recognize the car as a Mercedes Benz. And it’s not like ”Idol” was interrupted by the judges talking about how great Coke is or the plot in “Chuck” stopped by the the two characters waxing poetically about how great a Subway Club tastes. The same was true for the Reese’s Pieces product placement in “E.T.” People drink Coke. People eat Subway and Reese’s Pieces.”

But when does product placement go too far?

Many shows use guest stars to up ratings. “CSI” recently featured the country music group Rascall Flatts in an entire episode. The episode wasn’t about the group’s music, but it was featured prominently. And both the beginning and ending of the episode featured the band’s latest song “Unstoppable.”

Here’s a clip of the ending of the episode:

And an entire episode of the sitcom “Modern Family” revolved around one character buying her husband an iPad for his birthday (which happened to be the date the iPad launched):

And, in a recent episode of “Bones,” the dialogue virtually came to a screeching halt when two of the characters started talking about the features of the Toyota Prius rental car they were driving.

It’s a fine line that companies and advertisers are walking when it comes to product placement. Do they need to do it? Probably. Will we continue to see more of it? Most certainly. Do people care? Yes and no. I think most people are like me when it comes to product placement. It’s fine to see logos and products when the story isn’t stopped to promote the brand. Just let the actions flow naturally.

Aaron