Artists Against Product Placement
from the it's-an-issue dept
While TV execs fret how the traditional TV commercial is being eroded by DVRs, some people keep saying the solution is simple: product placement. Indeed, many people probably have noticed an increase in product placement that you see on TV and in movies. However, it seems that it’s not just consumers who find this trend a bit annoying: writers and actors are upset by the practice. Each have their own complaints. Writers are annoyed that they need to somehow work in the product placement, even if it doesn’t fit the story. The article talks about how some corporate execs signed a deal saying that one TV show would promote a new movie by mentioning it three times, including positive comments — and the writers had to figure out how to work it in to the story. Meanwhile, it appears that both writers and actors are annoyed that they’re not getting paid for the ads, as well. They feel that it goes beyond what they’ve been hired to do, and are now threatening to go to the FCC — which has a rule concerning how TV shows disclose their sponsors. Can’t wait to see more conflicts of interest over this. What happens when the actor who has a sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola stars in a show pitching Pepsi? That will be fun.
Comments on “Artists Against Product Placement”
ATHF
Reminds me of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode last night (all about Boost Mobile product placement).
How the deal went
First guy: Oh dude I was AEON FLUX all night after that booze, but it was great.
Second Guy: It’s totally worth the AEON FLUX after a party like this!!
First Guy: Wow, gotta go AEON FLUX again.
A bunch of Whiners
I?m an Engineer, and I design widgets. I?d like to make them out of titanium and carbon fiber, because that would be the best widget I could design. But I can?t, because that?s not what the spec is, it not what my boss or the customer wants. The only limitations I truly have is that I cannot and will not produce a product that is illegal or unsafe.
The same is true for writers. If their boss and customers (advertisers) want a product mentioned, they should do their job and write in the product, as long it is legal to do so. What?s the big deal?
If they want to do thing their own way, they should quit, and start their own company.
Re: A bunch of Whiners
So sure why not, the advertisers are the customers, the brainwashed viewers are the product!
Talk about why MPAA and RIAA feel justified to do all the bullshit to the consumer, it’s the product after all, the specs say “brainwash, control, profit”.
Re: Re: A bunch of Whiners
You know, it’s very possible that not ALL viewers are brainwashed. The fact that they watch serial TV doesn’t indicate a lack of intelligence, although I suppose we could argue that point. But give the consumer his/her due – just because we see it in the tube doesn’t mean they’re going to drop everything and run out and buy the product – unless, of course, it’s cold beer……
Re: Re: Re: A bunch of Whiners
Brainwashing includes more than dropping everything and buying the product. For ex. if you read productinvasion.com you’ll see a story where the contestants were forced to pretend to eat packaged food that the trainers told them they should not eat.
This is not revealed to the viewers, they might think this food brand is more suitable for sports than they thought.
This is brainwashing, it may be subtle, but when projected country/world-wide, the mass effect more than makes up for the money the sponsor paid for injecting the said show with his products.