TiVo Causes Increase in Product Placement

ndansmith writes "Wired has got an article on how TiVo and other 'ad-skipping technologies' have caused an upsurge in product placements on network television shows. The 84% increase in product placements on TV over the last year has drawn protests from both the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild. An example from the article: 'In a recent episode of the NBC series Medium, writers had to work the movie Memoirs of a Geisha into the dialogue three times because of a deal the network made with Sony earlier in the season. They even had the characters go on a date to an early screening of the movie and bump into friends who had just viewed Geisha to tell them how good it was.' Readers may also remember a controversial Cisco Systems product placement on Fox's 24."

Comments

And the winner is...

[phpm0nkey]

Shake's 12 minute commercial for Boost Mobile!

OK, so they were taking a shot at product placement in TV shows, but still, damn. I hope everyone at Williams Street got some free phones.

Artistic integrity?

[mat catastrophe]

From the article:

"some writers are putting up a fight, demanding more pay in exchange for scripting product plugs into their shows ."

So, in other words, it isn't like they are concerned about becoming shills...only that they aren't paid enough to be whores.

Re:Good or Bad?

[servognome]

I mean, wouldn't you guys like it if commercials were cut down signifigantly?

Not at the price of hurting the actual show. I can buy DVDs and not worry about commercials, or just go get food during commercial breaks. Product placement doesn't give you those options.

The reruns are going to be even worse.

[TheNarrator]

20 years from now the re-runs are going to look really weird. If they started doing this 20 years ago we'd probably be watching Scooby Doo episodes where Shaggy mentions how comfortable his Dead 70s Brand bell bottoms are. Then again, with modern technology they might start editing old tv shows inserting new scenes to do product placement or just dubbing over them with new brand names.

Porn

[Freaky Spook]

Wait till the porn industry starts using product placment, it will soon filter down to mainstream media in a more popular way!

<i>"After giving head nothing gets the taste out of my mouth better then mentos, my mouth is fresh and im ready to do the double penetration shot"</i>

Real Solution

[oGMo]

The real solution is so simple, it may be beyond the grasp of marketers: make advertisements worth watching.

It's simple. Why do I skip commercials? They're annoying, loud, repetitive, gaudy, mindless. I don't want to watch them, and the producer believes I won't be watching them (I wonder why?), so they scream and shout to get my attention.

So make a commercial that's funny, witty, beautiful. And don't play it every commercial break. Make something I want to see again, and instead of skipping it, I'll take advantage of the TiVo and watch it again.

Such a thing is possible: such commercials already exist. They've few and far between, but we've probably all seen at least one or two. It's possible. If the existing ad agencies can't come up with them, find new ones. I bet there are a thousand independent filmmakers out there who could come up with 30 second clips that fit this bill on half the budget they usually spend.

This is the real solution, one that doesn't involve literally forcing us to watch with DRM and legislation. Which is going to alienate people? Making something they desire, or making it illegal to avoid something they don't?

Good AND bad.

[khasim]

Good - Victorias Secret product placement.

Bad - Hemorroid cream product placement.

Re:Good AND bad.

[Hamster Of Death]

Worse - It's the same commercial

Re:Good AND bad.

[StyxRiver]

There's nothing wrong with correctly placing hemorrhoid products.

I've heard it's quite relieving.

Re:As I sit here reading slashdot...

[DeafByBeheading]

Benjamin: Wayne! Listen, we need to have a talk about Vanderhoff.
          The fact is he's the sponsor and you signed a contract
          guaranteeing him certain concessions, one of them being
          a spot on the show.
Wayne [holding a Pizza Hut box]: Well that's where I see things just
          a little differently. Contract or no, I will not bow to
          any sponsor.
Benjamin: I'm sorry you feel that way, but basically it's the nature
          of the beast.
Wayne [holding a bag of Doritos]: Maybe I'm wrong on this one, but
          for me, the beast doesn't include selling out. Garth, you
          know what I'm talking about, right?
Garth [wearing head-to-toe Reebok wardrobe]: It's like people only do
          these things because they can get paid. And that's just
          really sad.
Wayne: I can't talk about it anymore; it's giving me a headache.
Garth [Dumps two Nuprin pills into Wayne's hand]: Here, take two of these!
Wayne: Ah, Nuprin. Little. Yellow. Different.
Benjamin: Look, you can stay here in the big leagues and play by the
          rules, or you can go back to the farm club in Aurora. It's
          your choice.
Wayne: [holding a can of Pepsi] Yes, and it's the choice of a new generation.

Re:Quite frankly,

[symbolic]

This might not be their biggest problem (TiVO). Networks seem to have tapped into this mentality that tries the patience of its viewers every step of the way. It's not just the commercials any more. Now it's having to endure visual clutter like the station ID logo, and these rediculous sliders that zip in and out at the bottom of the screen just after we've already been subject to four or more commercials.

I've found this so annoying in fact, that I've started to look at alternative forms of distraction. Podcasts have grown to fill that niche. They're great- they are personal, it's easy to connect with the producers, and they are/can be eductional and/or informative. Best of all, there are few if any commercials, and NO ANNOYING LOGOS OR SLIDERS. That's gets my vote hands down.

Re:Quite frankly,

[ComaVN]

I'm hoping that it doesn't spread like trailers on DVDs is starting to. I bought a DVD recently and up came trailers for other DVDs the company marketing people thought I might like. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for which company releases the next film I might be tempted to buy. Same applies to the two-minute piracy warning - I paid for the DVD. I am NOT their target audience.

That pisses me off, too. I think it's part of a secret plot to make pirated dvds actually more attractive (ignoring the price) than the real thing. I'm not sure how the movie industry expects to profit from this though.