Until yesterday, Europe had completely disallowed product placement since 1989 on all home-grown television programs, “all fictional shows except those aimed at children could use brand promotion after a review of EU audiovisual rules intended to take account of a new media era,” according to the FT.
‘The overhaul of the 1989 laws should allow traditional television broadcasters to tap into a lucrative new revenue stream as their core advert-driven businesses fragment because of the growth of the internet and digital channels.”
Product placement is an amazingly profitable advertising channel, “a $4.5bn (€3.6bn) market in the US last year,” which wasn’t fair to local European markets, unable to take advantage of the already existing form of marketing. US-made television programs are broadcast in Europe with all the product placement intact, “Broadcasters in Europe can use US programmes that include brand promotion but should not screen European-made shows that do the same.”
In the UK, the “estimated that product placement could develop into a £100m-a-year industry in the UK.”
I am a huge fan of product placement because reality is reality and we are brand-centric people in a brand-centric culture of consumption. I am a huge fan of product placement in online video games as well, allowing video games to remain current and to allow advertisers access to a lower buy in.
When I drive and when I live, a major part of my experience of not merely the media but life is anchored in product and brand.
Wendy drinks Diet Coke and I know that. So does Janna and Stephanie. I drive a BMW and prefer IBM ThinkPads. I hunger for Eames and resist buying anything but Advil proper. These choices are always chosen, contrived, and heavy-handed. They’re always intentional.
The reason why people, nations, governments, and laws have been so unkind to product placement is that it has always been somewhat dirty and deceitful.
Product placement need not be either of these things. At some point, Madison Avenue became way too sneaky. As I always testify, I am a huge proponent of product endorsements, of product sponsorship, and of product placement with one caveat: transparency, transparency, transparency!
Let your viewer, listener, player, and reader in on the joke.
