PRODUCT PLACEMENT:WE HAVE BECOME so accustomed to product placement in US films and TV programmes over the last 30 years that we barely notice the farcical way expensive clobber is shoe-horned into Sex and the Cityor the Gleecast's unhealthy obsession with products from Apple and Adidas. But what if Bela Doyle ostentatiously ate Tayto each time he wandered the streets of Fair City's Carrigstown or Ryan Tubridy only ever sipped Ballygowan on The Late Late Show? Or just imagine if Renault cars featured prominently on prominent Renault car dealer Bill Cullen's The Apprenticeon TV3? Okay, okay, that's already happened – one episode of the first series had contestants selling cars at the Bill Cullen Motor Company, an advertising opportunity the group paid handsomely for.
The Apprenticeaside, product placement in Ireland has been a strict no-no until now. On Thursday, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) adopts new rules which will pave the way for it to take centre stage on Irish television for the very first time.
The BAI was forced to rewrite its rule book after recognition at EU level in 2007 that the television advertising goalposts had shifted dramatically, not least because of the proliferation of digital video recorders (DVRs) which allow viewers to easily record programmes and then zip through the ads at a pleasingly high speed. Member-states were consequently asked to revise their stance on product placement.
In truth, the BAI hasn’t shifted its position all that much, at least not yet. Its new code does allow branded products to appear on screen to ensure programme realism and to defray programme costs but it does not allow companies pay money to programme makers for that placement.
Which begs the question: if the purpose of the change is to allow TV companies explore new avenues for revenue generation as more traditional ones disappear, why the ban? A spokesman told Pricewatch that the BAI plans to review the prohibition within 12 months.
“It’s ridiculous that Ireland hasn’t moved faster to find other ways to expand the ways broadcasters can earn revenue to produce Irish content on Irish stations,” says Richard Delevan of advertising agency McConnells. “Why does the BAI insist on penalising Irish broadcasters, who find it hard enough in the current environment, by preventing them from getting access to funding?” he asks.
Product placement Irish style will not give undue prominence to the products or services or directly encourage their purchase, and explicit references to a brand’s virtues and product integration into content and storylines will still be banned.
Another key change will see programmes containing product placement identified at the start and the end and when a programme resumes after the ads. From this week until the end of the year broadcasters must include a separate full-screen announcement stating: “The following broadcast contains product placement”. This announcement will be accompanied by a “PP” logo. The logo will also appear at the beginning of the programme and when the programme recommences after an ad break. Next year, the voice over will disappear and only the PP logo will remain. Advertising people we spoke to are thrilled with the logo as, at least in the early days, it will ensure viewers are on the look out for the products.
This week's changes are unlikely see any major shifts in the way home-produced dramas such as Fair Cityare made. Alcohol will never be referred to by brand and cigarettes will almost never be bought. The writers will also continue to assiduously steer clear of referring to a character's political allegiance. We were only ever told that Dermot was a councillor for "The Party" although we all knew that he was Fianna Fáil to the core, this, er, fact, has been confirmed to Pricewatchin recent days by a Deep Throat on set.
While Delevan wants broadcasters to be given more freedom to use product placement to generate revenue, he accepts that it can reach ridiculous levels. "Of course people who make programmes or films can't let it run away from them as they did in Sex and the City 2. If it's gauche and so stomach-turningly obvious it's a big turn off for the viewer – which ultimately will lead people not to recommend the show or film to their friends and then fewer people actually go to watch it. Self-interest on the part of producers is a healthy counterweight to product placement run amok."
In the US, product placement is now an accepted form of advertising where, according to research firm Nielsen, it accounts for 5 per cent of ad revenue. Product integration which sees brands worked into the script is also allowed, although it is hard to pull off in a seamless fashion and is frequently mocked. One running Seinfeldgag used to have Jerry repeatedly offered bottles of Snapple which he rejected with the words "nah – too sweet". Snapple were delighted with the repeated mentions, which didn't cost them a cent, but less so with the withering criticism. Ultimately it didn't do their business any harm at all.
Digital video recorders have changed the way we watch TV and led to the EU’s broadcasters to demand greater freedom when it comes to product placement, but maybe their concerns are unfounded. One surprising fact to emerge from the US in the last two years is that although people have the ability to skip ads, many actually choose to watch them.
In the early days of Tivo (the most popular DVR brand in the US) up to 90 per cent of viewers were fast forwarding through the ads. "But as the technology got more widespread the percentage has actually dropped," Delevan says. Now around 46 per cent of viewers between 18 and 49 actually watch the ads all the way through. "We're passive generally when we watch TV," Delevan continues. "We might be using Twitter all the way through Eurovision to be our own version of Terry Wogan or take the mick out of the Breffmeister on The Apprenticebut we're actually not that much more prone to fast-forwarding over ads as getting up to boil the kettle" – to make a nice cup of Barry's Tea *.
* Pricewatch received no money for this gratuitous mention
SEEN THE MOVIE, BOUGHT THE STUFF
ETWhen ET munched his way through a packet of Reese's Pieces in the 1982 film, a shameless era of product placement began. Sales shot up 65 per cent and, presumably, the Mars executive who had passed on the opportunity to have MMs feature was shown the door. Reese's didn't even pay for the privilege although the confectionary company did agree to a heavy sponsorship deal after the film's release.
CASTAWAYIn addition to Tom Hanks, the two stars of this 2000 film were Fed-Ex and a Wilson volleyball. Some people went so far as to suggest the volleyball, which plays such a central role in the film, should have received a best supporting actor nomination.
BACK TO THE FUTUREThe DeLorean car featured prominently in the 1985 blockbuster although it did the company precious little good as it had gone out of business a couple of years before the movie was released. Pepsi, which also starred in the film, did okay out of it though.
JAMES BONDForget Sex and the City, there is no movie franchise that has mastered the dark art of product placement quite like Mr Bond. Branded watches, phones, computers and of course cars feature prominently. Fans were apoplectic when Bond ditched his Aston Martin in favour of a BMW for the first time in Golden Eye in 1995.
SEX AND THE CITY: Manolo Blahnik, Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin, Dior, iPhone, Bang Olufsen, the Rampant Rabbit, Vera Wang, Oscar de la Renta, Christian Lacroix. The list really does go on and on and on, and that applies to TV series and both big screen spin-offs.
THE ROADPossibly the oddest product placement ever sees the boy and his father finding the last remaining can of Coke in a vending machine – the boy has never tasted it before. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the producers struggled to get corporate clearance as Coke was reluctant to be linked to cannibalism, but Viggo Mortensen contacted the decision-making executive and got the nod.
