Product Placement Questionnaire

Hi, I am studying A2 Media Studies and am currently preparing for a critical research exam on product placement. For one of my sources, I have decided to go on a speciallist forum, TV Forum, to see what people think about it here. It would be greatly appreciated if you can reply to the questions that I have writen below.

Thanks
Colin

1) Do you think that product placement should be legalised in the UK?

2) Do you think programming would improve as a result of more money coming up from product placement?

3) From the television genres below, answer yes or no on whether you think that product placement would be suitable in these types of shows:

a. Drama
b. Children’s
c. News
d. Light Entertainment
e. Documentary
f. Reality

4) Do you think that US television is dominated by product placement?

5) Does product placement in the US affect your enjoyment of the show?

6) Do you think it would be suitable for the BBC to be excluded from using product placement?

I'm not against it in principal. It would have to be done fairly subliminally though, rather than in-your-face repeated mentions of a product or service. If it would mean a cut-down in length and frequency of actual proper commercial breaks, then that would be a good thing IMHO (in my humble opinion).



I don't think that there's a direct correlation between simply throwing more money at something, and its quality improving. See: The government throwing money at the NHS, for example.



News and Children's definately not IMHO. Documentaries might be a bit difficult to fit PP into. Reality is such a naff TV genre anyway, that PP would be really really at home there. Plus, it's such a ratings-pulling genre these days, that advertisers would be mad not choose it.

Magazine type shows (e.g. This Morning ) already seem to skirt close to PP. They'll often hold up the box of the latest Keep Fit DVD (or whatever) of the particular minor celebrity that they're interviewing at the time.



I'm afraid I watch little-to-no US series, so can't comment.

Several years ago, Eurotrash on Channel 4 was preceeeded by what was possibly the UK's first "Informercial" - Miller Time (as in Miller beer). It was a sort of spoof of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno[i]-type of chat shows. It used up the entire length of the pre-[i]Eurotrash break (about 3-4 minutes or something).

So, informercials may be another route worth exploring for UK advertising.



As long as the BBC is still licence-fee funded, and therefore doesn't advertise in the normal sense (i.e. commercial breaks), then I think that PP would also be rather inappropriate.

I think product placement shouldn't be used in news or documentaries due to the (supposedly) factual content. I also think it shouldn't be allowed in kid's TV as it'll upset some people. Product placement would probably fit quite well into light entertainment and reality programs, and some dramas but not others e.g. product placement wouldn't work in period dramas.