PRODUCT PLACEMENT
BY DAN MILLER
February 8, 2008
I love our sponsors.... they are the lifeblood of the TV business.
Do me a favor.... watch their commercials, and buy their products.
Don't go sneaking around, recording shows with your Tivo or Comcast digital box and then fast forwarding through the commercials.
Think about it.... if too many people skip the commercials, we'll have to go to more drastic measures, like "product placement."
They've been doing it for years in the movies, with studios like Paramount, Disney, MGM and others cleverly placing products and images in various motion pictures.
You think it's just coincidence that there's a Coke or Pepsi in the actor's hand during a scene.... or that he just happens to be driving a Ford or Chevy or Honda or Nissan or Toyota or Kia?
No, those companies compensate 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, and all the others in the industry to make their products visible when you, the patron, show up at the Green Hills Cinema or Belcourt to watch a movie.
And it's not just the movies.... TV shows -- including some on NBC -- are doing it more often these days.
Ever notice how when someone is working on a computer in a show, you can always clearly see the logo for Apple or Dell or whatever?
And if the computer screen is shown, Google or Yahoo or AOL is clearly visible.
That, my friend, is product placement.
And do you think quiz shows pay money for all those vacations they give away to DisneyWorld or SeaWorld?
No, the vacations are provided free to the quiz shows by Disney or SeaWorld in exchange for the publicity generated by showing pictures of the vacation destinations.
Same with the Goodyear or Fuji blimps.
It doesn't cost the network any money to have those eyes in the sky over sporting events.
Goodyear and Fuji and other blimps are thrilled to fly over and get all that free advertising and exposure.
If viewers start skipping commercials in our newscasts, I can envision the day when -- right as I'm reading a big story -- the Watson's girl might be seen in the background sitting on the edge of a hot tub.
Or perhaps -- during wide shots -- Bruce Sprintz will just happen to walk across our studio and take a seat on a couch that still has a big price tag on it.
There could be Kroger shopping bags placed around the weather center.... and we could have giant mugs of Starbuck's coffee on the news desk.
And the reporters in the field could be wearing Nike caps.
And, who knows, you might even spot Lee Beaman or Reed Trickett driving around in the news cruisers with our photographers.
And I can imagine the backdrop of our news set featuring a giant city image, with the AT&T tower and LP Field prominent in the background.
You know what? The day could come when we point out that Demetria gets clothes from The French Shoppe. (Oh, wait, we already do that)
And by the way -- if you're counting -- I just slipped 41 "product mentions" into this essay.
See how easy it is.
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***Footnote: For those of you far away from Nashville, Bruce Sprintz, Lee Beaman & Reed Trickett are big advertisers on WSMV, and Demetria (Kalodimos) is my co-anchor on our newscasts.
(And I just slipped in a few more product mentions right there)
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