For a long time, UK viewers of American TV have been familiar with the concept of product placement. From the ‘background’ props (Sunkist in One Tree Hill, Dr. Pepper in 90210) to the blatant story-line-focused brands (ipad in Modern Family, Verizon in 30 Rock), brand power has fuelled U.S. small-screen entertainment.
No longer is this solely a preserve of our American cousins.
Following OfCom’s relaxation of product placement laws in the UK, brands now stand much more chance of gaining screen-time. Not just sponsoring TV shows (Toyota Aygo‘s long-standing support of T4, Aviva‘s sponsorship of ITV Drama Premieres), but actually intergrating themselves within the programming. But as of yesterday, it has become clear that Ofcom are concerned we are under no illusions that the product appeares their naturally.
As reported by Brand Republic yesterday morning, Ofcom released the Product Placement ‘P’ (above) that will be the mandatory requirement of broadcasters and producers wishing to include branded presence within their creative output. P is for product, is for placement, is for paid-for. This simple logo will need to:
· Appear for three seconds at the start and end of programmes, and after any ad breaks;
· Be placed in one of the four corners of the screen;
· Not conflict with programme idents (e.g. Aviva’s ITV Drama sponsorship break bumpers);
· Meet minimum size requirements, which according to an Ofcom spokesman means it will be “roughly equivalent to the size of a channel logo“.
The impact of this is difficult to measure until we start seeing it on our screens because the actual execution and the measures taken to enforce it are equally difficult to predict and visualise.
In theory, at least it seems a fairly inocuous concept. A small logo in the corner of the screen is no different from the majority of TV channels currently on air. But the interesting question is on brand engagement – do we take the brand’s inclusion in the narrative as less legitimate because we are made aware of the big ‘P’? Or is our attention actually drawn more to its presence because we are warned?
Taking the One Tree Hill example, would a P placed at the start and end of every episode suffice? Or the start and end of every relevant scene? Which of the 58 (!) verbal mentions of Sunkist throught Season 3 would require tagging? Would Sunkist’s brand impact be greater or would we be more skeptical because we had been alerted to the fact that (shock) its inclusion was ‘placed’ (by the producers) and not the ‘genuine’ choice of the characters (which, being fictional, was also the choice of the, err, producers)?
And how far will this start intruding into the realms of editorial integrity? The traditionalists amongst us might like to see advertising restricted to, well, advertising. Aviva’s (admittedly, very entertaining) break bumpers around ITV Drama actually work very well – but at what point will we see the owners of the Marchlands house claiming on their Aviva home insurance after a bathroom flood? P or no P, clunky brand inclusions run a very real risk of alienating audiences and compromising enjoyment of the programme.
I would propose that this promise of transparency and visual warning of product placement won’t make much difference to the impact of the brand’s presence. If anything, it might draw attention to the fact that we are about to be advertised at – but then who really watches TV these days expecting anything else? Will we think less of Eastenders because the drink on the Cafe table is Coca-Cola, or the pint being pulled is GUINNESS? We live in a branded world where we expect to see brand messages in our daily lives, so surely we would expect our alter-egos on screen to do so also – where both credible and relevant.
If Ofcom feels the need to make doubly sure we know that the brand has paid for that presence, then so be it, but the modern TV viewer is a savvy animal. Chances are, we already knew anyway.
By Lucie Bartlett on February 15th, 2011
Tags: Advertising, Brand marketing, Broadcast sponsorship, Communications, ITV, Product placement, Sponsorship, Television
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