There's a great article in this week's Maclean's about the blurring line between advertisments and television shows.
It's a pretty indepth look at the pros and cons of letting advertisers incorporate their products directly into a show and the balance that writers have to strive for to keep their shows from becoming pure 'advertainment'. Granted, reality shows can do this with impunity, but not every show wants to go so far.
There's a neat story about how Miller was the official beer of Rescue Me until the show started getting into storylines about alcoholism and bar fights. The neat thing is that the writers actually stood up to Miller and refused to write wimpier storylines. Of course, Miller is no longer a sponsor, but at least the show maintains its integrity.
I also liked the followup article about the death and rebirth of online advertising and how it's teaching TV advertisers new tricks. Both articles are rather interesting reads.
I personally don't mind product placement like the Ford/24 relationship because it makes sense. I don't pay attention to the fact that Jack Bauer drives a Ford, but if it helps them make money, go nuts.
It's when the reference to the product is extremely blatant and draws you out of the 'reality' of the show that I don't like it. If they had Jack saying, "Gee, I wish I could get a new FORD TRUCK to help battle these terrorists." Well, that's going too far. As it is, they just have him get in and drive around in it. Woo.
---
What I'm Reading: The final bit of Thief Of Time
What I'm Playing: WoW, Xenosaga 2
What I'm Watching: Lost!
No comments:
Post a Comment