Product Placement

Yes, I love Sky and being able to fast forward the ads! Product placement would be an improvement to the way ads are now though.If you are watching a gardening show, then ads for weedkiller and garden tools etc wouldn't be at all a bad idea.Ditto foody ads in between a a foody show,etc.

I think I would also prefer product placement but, as you have said, advertisements linked to the genre of programme would be more tolerable and, possibly, helpful even.

I wonder why they don't do that.

Other Nations have been doing product placement for years [not all] perhaps the powers that be think we will all be outraged by seeing a Coronation St character using Persil, or a cop drinking Bells whisky in his office? I think they have never done the link to the tv shows [by genre] because it's all about money, the most popular tv shows will have ads from the companies that pay a fortune, and it may be difficult to then slot these ads into the right genres, which is a pity, and yes,we would all take a bit more notice of them I think, instead of going to the loo or making a cup of tea while they were on.

Many years ago my father had a public relations company. It was all a big game to him - to see which film producers he could get to accept backhanders to place bottles of Johnny Walker whisky in the film (The Thomas Crown Affair) in a prominent position, to persuade British film producers to place adverts for various things on the sides of London red buses, that sort of thing. I remember being quite disapproving even then! I think his main contribution to me was a healthy appreciation of how easy it is to be manipulated into buying something we don't need.

Watched Quirke last night, and there was a lot of drinking whisky and smoking in it, but I cannot recall whether the bottles and packets had any particular brand names on them.

I don't know if it goes on in films, but it was made illegal on our tv shows.

I think it has been brought back in, jane. But only in ITV programmes made for British people, not the BBC, so that's probably why I did not see any in Quirke.

It is on some itv programmes, identified by a P - for product placement at the beginning. I think it may be on Coronation St. I sometimes think I'll try to spot the product is, then I seem to forget all about it. So don't think it works on me.

There is often an Apple logo when a character on tv flips open a laptop.

The fact that you're not aware that you've seen it, doesn't mean it isn't effective. On the contrary, information that our brains pick up subconsciously, is still retained even though we're unaware of it.

I have no objection to product placement as described, if it did not get too intrusive. I certainly wouldn't like deliberate advertising within programmes - e.g. a character in a play telling us how great Fairy Liquid is, or suchlike.

I can't help feeling that product placement (or advertising) could easily backfire. Viewers could easily be sitting at home thinking "I'm not buying that if she's got it in her kitchen".

That's right eloethan it's subliminal advertising, and it works better, they say than direct advertising.

Luckily for me I am fearfully unobservant.

janerowena, don't be so sure...you're the type of person subliminal advertisers are targeting!

I hardly buy anything new, though. eBay is my friend. Along with Preloved and Freecycle - and I don't buy ready meals and always do lots of research before buying beauty products. Brand names mean nothing to me when it comes to food and drink. I'm pretty sure they would prefer someone who is a bit more of a consumer than I am.