The Potential of Product Placement

1197 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Product placement as popular in new media as it has been in traditional television and film content

Profit is the bottom line for merchandising. It is often the same thing for television programming. The common denominator for this has been commercials. However, technology has made it possible to allow the viewer to skip those commercials. Some options such as DVR, Hulu, and Netflix do not necessarily even include the commercials. These innovations needed to have a counter response from advertisers. An idea to keep the product front and center was product placement. Products are incorporated into the actual television show. Product placement in television and film affects the enjoyment of the viewer and distracts from the show’s content.
Product placement is not new for media. The film, E.T., shows the children using Reese’s Pieces to lure the alien out of hiding. It is now being used more frequently to lure the viewer into purchasing. According to “New Trends in Product Placement” by Lilia Gutnik, Tom Huang, Jill Blue Lin, and Tom Schmidt, “product placement is being shaped by new technologies such as digital television (DTV), digital recording (DVR), and linking of products” (2). Television may be advancing, but products still need to be sold. Large amounts of money are at stake. In 2005, product placement was worth $4.2 billion (Gutnik et al 3). New ideas in programming have been developed that help the bottom line for the companies, but may not be in the best interest of the viewer.
American Idol is one of the first big hits of interactive media (Jenkins 343). The idea was that a large field of contestants would finally be weeded down by viewer votes to one winner. The fact that viewers voted ensured an audience for the show itself. “Many more people watch the series than try out; many more try out than...

... middle of paper ...

...arting to threaten the enjoyment of some viewers. When the annoyance outweighs the enjoyment, which is getting closer to happening, the button hit on the remote will say off.

Works Cited

Gutnik, Lila. Tom Huang, Jill Blue Lin, and Ted Schmidt. “New Trends in Product Placement”.
School of Information. Spring, 2007. Web. 08 Sept. 2013.
Jenkins, Henry. “Buying into American Idol: How We Are Being Sold on Reality Television.” Reality TV: Remaking Television Culture. Ed. Murray, Susan, and Laurie Ouellette. New York University Press, 2009. Print.
Rosin, Hanna. “The Touch-Screen Generation.” The Atlantic. 20 March 2013. Print.
Schneider, Michael. “Fall TV Analysis.” TV Guide. 24 Oct 2012. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.

Show More
Related

  • Effectiveness of Product Placement in Advertisements

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    Consumers are bombarded with advertisements every single day. On almost all forms of media, companies use advertisements to convince consumers to purchase their product. A large medium for advertisements are magazines. Most of the advertisements in Parents magazine appeal to parents because that is the target audience of the magazine. A cat food advertisement would appeal to a lot of parents because many families have cats. Sheba and Fancy Feast both had advertisements in the magazine, but one of the advertisements is clearly more effective. The Fancy Feast advertisement is more effective than the Sheba advertisement because of product placement, color, and model placement.

    Read More

  • Charmin Toilet Paper Ad

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    Advertisements are one of many things that Americans cannot get away from. Every American sees an average of 3,000 advertisements a day; whether it’s on the television, radio, while surfing the internet, or while driving around town. Advertisements try to get consumers to buy their products by getting their attention. Most advertisements don’t have anything to do with the product itself. Every company has a different way of getting the public’s attention, but every advertisement has the same goal - to sell the product. Every advertisement tries to appeal to the audience by using ethos, pathos, and logos, while also focusing on who their audience is and the purpose of the ad. An example of this is a Charmin commercial where there is a bear who gets excited when he gets to use the toilet paper because it is so soft.

    Read More

  • The Signs Of Shopping By Steve Mckeevitt Summary

    1222 Words  | 3 Pages

    Usually, television sales choose a time when consumers are free to watch television to present fancy commodities like jewelry. The announcer talks about the features of the product over and over for a half an hour. It gives the consumers a feeling that something he/she needs that product ever if it was expensive, they can be offered. Different brands send direct mail catalogues with their websites or phone numbers for ordering, it gives consumers the opportunity to shop when and where they want, and how the brands are collecting votes for their commodities. What all the companies need to do is let consumers vote for their brand by hiring people who can innovate a now features for their commodities or produces.

    Read More

  • Pepsi and Heineken Commercials: Promoting American Devotion and Compassion

    930 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today’s commercials cloud the viewers’ brains with meaningless ritzy camera angles and beautiful models to divert viewers from the true meaning of the commercials. The advertisers just want consumers to spend all of their hard-earned money on their brand of products. The “Pepsi” and “Heineken” commercials are perfect examples of what Dave Barry is trying to point out in his essay, “Red, White and Beer.” He emphasizes that commercial advertisements need to make viewers think that by choosing their brands of products, viewers are helping out American society. As Rita Dove’s essay “Loose Ends” argues, people prefer this fantasy of television to the reality of their own lives. Because viewers prefer fantasy to reality, they become fixated on the fantasy, and according to Marie Winn in “Television Addiction,” this can ultimately lead to a serious addiction to television. But, one must admit that the clever tactics of the commercial advertisers are beyond compare. Who would have thought the half naked-blondes holding soda cans and American men refusing commitment would have caught viewers’ attention?

    Read More

  • Harvard Case: Launching The Bmw Z3 Roadster

    1183 Words  | 3 Pages

    To encourage a point-of-view regarding the role of cross-promotions and movie product placements both within the marketing mix, and as elements of new product launch activities

    Read More

  • Robert Scholes on Video Texts - Comparison

    2393 Words  | 5 Pages

    According to Robert Scholes, author of On Reading a Video Text, commercials aired on television hold a dynamic power over human beings on a subconscious level. He believes that through the use of specific tools, commercials can hold the minds of an audience captive, and can control their abilities to think rationally. Visual fascination, one of the tools Scholes believes captures the minds of viewers, can take a simple video, and through the use of editing and special effects, turn it into a powerful scene which one simply cannot take his or her eyes from. Narrativity is yet another way Scholes feels commercials can take control of the thoughts of a person sitting in front of the television. Through the use of specific words, sounds, accompanying statements and or music, a television commercial can hold a viewer’s mind within its grasp, just long enough to confuse someone into buying a product for the wrong reason. The most significant power over the population held by television commercials is that of cultural reinforcement, as Scholes calls it. By offering a human relation throughout itself, a commercial can link with the masses as though it’s speaking to the individual viewer on an equal level. A commercial In his essay, Scholes analyzes a Budweiser commercial in an effort to prove his statements about the aforementioned tools.

    Read More

  • Analysis : ' Buy Ology : Truth And Lies About Why We Buy

    1798 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lindstrom discusses marketing tools, tips, and tricks throughout the book. He explores many different topics other than his research in brain pattern analyzing. He explains that billions of dollars are spent each year in product advertising. Early in the book, Lindstrom points out that shows like American idol (once a European show called pop idol) devotes 60% of their viewing time to product placement for Coca-Cola. One interesting fact is that coca-cola, ford, and Cingular wireless (later AT&T) all sponsor this well known TV s...

    Read More

  • Using the Model of Framing in Reality Television to Effectively Promote Projects

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...curately portrays personality was compressed into nuggets of reality that the producers wished to convey. This truth however has no effect on the awareness of the audience who for the most part accept the edidt performance as full reality and base their perceptions of the contestants on that. According to Charles Fairchild (2007) “ ‘Idol’ relationships are not limited to familiar musician-fan binaries, but grow and evolve into a series of intimate, active relationships that stretch well beyond the life of the show” (p.355). In his research he examined Australian Idol, a singing completion similar to X-Factor, and how by using the interactive selection build an affective investment in contestants that last past the conclusion of the series. This can be applied to explain their continued success after the show concluded despite they fact they that they came in third.

    Read More

  • Harvard Business Review: Lady Gaga (B)

    1883 Words  | 4 Pages

    Wiles, M. A., & Danielova, A. (2009). The worth of product placement in successful films: An event study analysis. Journal of Marketing, 73(four), 44-63.

    Read More

  • Hey kids

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    I know it can be hard but try to remember when we were kids how much we all loved to wake up early on Saturday morning, sneak to the T.V., and watch our favorite cartoons. We loved to do this not only so that we could see our favorite characters go through troublesome dilemmas each episode, but also that we could see what was new on the market and try to convince our parents to spare a few dollars and buy it. This tactic has been used from years upon years and will likely continue occurring for the simple reason that it works. Businessmen in the marketing know that kids will see the latest and greatest thing and insist to their parent that they must have it. And with a little persistence and maybe a temper tantrum or two, they usually get it. Sometime commercials will appeal to not only the child, but also to parents because they can see the new toys that they are able to buy for their kids. Because there is always a constant demand for new toys, there will always be a entrepreneur trying to make money by creating a product, and market it in the way of commercialization. It is a never ending cycle which will always occur as long as there is T.V. because it is how they make their money.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Commercial Advertisement

    1641 Words  | 4 Pages

    Television commercials are television programming produced by any organisation to provide message in the market about their product or services. It is one of the most popular methods to attract customer and provide them information about their products or services.

    Read More

  • The Apple Corporation's Clever Marketing Strategies

    1448 Words  | 3 Pages

    Apple is “the world’s most colorful company,” Linzmayer, Owen . Apple Confidential 2.0. 1st. San Francisco, CA: No Starch Press, 2004. When looking at its meager beginnings Apple’s influence on the media could only be described as unique. Their product, style, and overall beliefs make the Apple Corporation a multi-billion dollar company with a general appeal for all ages. It is getting harder and harder to be an individual, so with Apple you can “rise above the norm” and be unique. Recently, this unique corporation has taken the media by storm, with their new line of products. Right along side these new products are a full line of new commercials to go along with them. These new commercials spawned from years of creative marketing done on Apple’s part. Studying the history of Apple is necessary to understanding their influence upon us today.

    Read More

  • Factors that Contribute to the Popularity of Reality Shows on TV

    886 Words  | 2 Pages

    This study examines voting – a feature of interaction and engagement of audience with reality television. The study aims to investigate which factors influencing on television viewers’ decision to vote and also provide an exploration on their psychological side which may be vital for understanding their interactive behaviors. In the context of greater interaction between the programs and its audiences has been stimulating by television producers, it is significant to research this interactive form of reality television that encourages deeper audience participation.

    Read More

  • Advertising and Its Impact on Children

    1554 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... Dittman also stated that “the average child is bombarded with more than 40,000 TV. commercials a year” (Dittman, 2004). The campaigns shown on TV persuade children to feel that They desperately need the product and that they have to nag their parents into buying it. product for them, or they will be left out of the cool crowd.

    Read More

  • The Power of Advertising

    1367 Words  | 3 Pages

    Advertising has been defined as the most powerful, persuasive, and manipulative tool that firms have to control consumers all over the world. It is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service. Its impacts created on the society throughout the years has been amazing, especially in this technology age. Influencing people’s habits, creating false needs, distorting the values and priorities of our society with sexism and feminism, advertising has become a poison snake ready to hunt his prey. However, on the other hand, advertising has had a positive effect as a help of the economy and society.

    Read More

More about The Potential of Product Placement

Open Document