# Product Placement



## Dave (Sep 5, 2013)

> _from Wiki_
> Product placement, or embedded marketing, is according to the European Union "any form of audiovisual commercial communication consisting of the inclusion of or reference to a product, a service or the trade mark thereof so that it is featured within a programme".



Watching mostly UK TV, as I have, where the use of product placement is subject to strict policies (a placement must be "editorially justified" and not place undue prominence on the product) I have been spared the excesses that we see in cinematic Film releases.

However, I have been watching the reboot of _Hawaii Five O_, which I think is an excellent series, if it would just stop advertising _Microsoft_. I mean how much can they possibly be paying them to be worth ruining such a good programme?

I ask you: When they do an internet search, would they really use Bing? 
And they certainly have some good software for matching phone numbers and driver's licenses, but does it really require all those huge flat screen TVs and the table top to work properly? However, when they all got out their matching Windows tablets it came to a head for me. Did the computer salesman just leave the building?

Is all US TV this blatant? How can you watch it without kicking the set over?

End Rant


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## Lenny (Sep 5, 2013)

I watch a fair few of the big US series, and some more besides, and I can't say I've noticed much product placement.

The only instance I can think of where it was blatant enough to make me say something out loud was in the first series of Netflix's *House of Cards* - there are repeated mentions of the Sony PS Vita and PS3 (to the extent that Kevin Spacey even had to say: "Is that the PS Vita? Which games does it have? ... I have a console at home I play sometimes to relax. I oughta get one of these for the car.").

EDIT: I suspect being able to see brand names on computer monitors, and logos on gadgets will grind your gears, but it doesn't bother me because I see it as something that's unavoidable if you use that product in real life (for example, my monitors all have "Asus" along the bottom, so I know if I see an Asus monitor in a television show the brand hasn't been added specifically to stand out).


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## Dr Zoidberg (Sep 5, 2013)

MS are paying to get Windows 8 everywhere at the mo. This weeks Under the Dome had a really obvious phone shot, plus a ludicrous scene where they drove a dying woman to the hospital and on arrival, paused to plug in their Prius!

The Walking Dead also has a Hyundai that stays spotlessly clean even after the end of the world. 

We just laugh at them now.


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## alchemist (Sep 5, 2013)

Dave said:


> However, I have been watching the reboot of _Hawaii Five O_, which I think is an excellent series, if it would just stop advertising _Microsoft_. I mean how much can they possibly be paying them to be worth ruining such a good programme?



Ha! I said the same thing to alchemissus last week. They used Windows Live (or something similar) to videoconference out in the jungle (fantastic signal, btw) and they lingered so long on the icon that it was blatantly obvious. Probably the most blatant I've ever seen.


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## Dr Zoidberg (Sep 5, 2013)

The absolute worst was a line in 24 "the Cisco network is self defending" when the terrorists were up to shenanegans.


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## Ursa major (Sep 5, 2013)

In the olden days, they used to mention, in the end credits of US shows, "Cars supplied by" and then Ford or GM, whatever. But as I could never tell one US-made car from another (the cars never seemed to resemble those manufacturers' product here in the UK), it never bothered me.

Now that all brands are world-wide, it can be distracting if too many products from one brand appear in a short period.


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## Dave (Sep 6, 2013)

I don't have a problem with "cars supplied by...." or "Miss Ellies clothes supplied by..." Alchemist said it better that I did...


alchemist said:


> ...they lingered so long on the icon that it was blatantly obvious. Probably the most blatant I've ever seen.



I've got a PC but I hardly ever see the Windows icon at all. 

Come to think of it though, there is a Chevrolet theme running through the series too. On the other hand, men talk about cars all the time - _Top Gear_ is one of the BBC's highest rated programmes. On the other hand, search engines and operating systems do not usually figure in everyday conversations.


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## JoanDrake (Sep 7, 2013)

OTOH I find it a silly shattering of the fourth wall when someone uses a Microcomp or drinks a Cok.

I do, though, find it a little strange that the inside of many police stations apparently now look like sepia colored combinations of NASA's control center and the set of a new Star Trek movie. When did cops start working off of immaculate Lexan desks and do they really have utterly paperless offices already?


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## Pyan (Sep 7, 2013)

Does this explain why Tony Stark drives an Audi in the films, when he could easily afford a much better car?...


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## Dr Zoidberg (Sep 7, 2013)

pyan said:


> Does this explain why Tony Stark drives an Audi in the films, when he could easily afford a much better car?...



Absolutely. Audi have a history of dropping off shiny new cars stuffed full of cash at the door of the film studios.


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## jastius (Sep 7, 2013)

places audi on computer screen.. waits near door for cash...


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## Dr Zoidberg (Sep 7, 2013)

jastius said:


> places audi on computer screen.. waits near door for cash...



It's got to be worth a go, though I've ad some brochures on my desk for a while and that hasn't worked.


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