Product Placement in Medium
The Mayor of Television, David Kronke, has an interesting article about the new president of NBC. Silverman is famous (or infamous) for his desire to make advertisers happy and is very willing to use product placement to promote products during shows. So, Kronke wonders if we’ll see shows like this in the future:
“Medium/Well-Done: Ruth’s Chris Steak House®:” Alison Dubois (Patricia Arquette) takes a job at a steakhouse, where she divines from each cut of beef just how it should be prepared for optimal mouth-watering deliciousness.
Hopefully not, but there probably will be obvious product touting. I can’t remember what show I was watching where the actor literally held a cereal box in front of his face for about ten seconds while having breakfast with the kids. That was bad-like those pop up ads that we all hate. A casually positioned box on the table that doesn’t make it look like the actor is the cereal is less irritating for viewers.
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5 opinions for Product Placement in Medium
Dawn
Jun 6, 2007 at 9:03 am
I know what you mean, Katelyn. I hate the shameless self-promotion and advertiser-butt-kissing that the networks will do, and make actors do, just to shill products and make a dollar. Like the Deal or No Deal on Medium. That was just disgusting on the part of NBC to make them do that (I’m sure it was NBC’s idea, I really can’t see GGC coming up with that). And it makes the actors look like cheap pitchmen. They may as well make a 45-minute commercial and put a 15-minute show in the middle of it.
I’m not sure I like this new guy either. I don’t know how much you’ve read about him, but he’s got his own production company and he’s largely responsible, along with Mark Burnett, for the GLUT of reality and unscripted shows on television. I don’t think he knows how to do anything with scripted shows. The only ones to his credit are The Office and Ugly Betty. I’m nervous about what he’s going to do with the network. He sounds like a hot dog who might shake things up just to be doing it. He says he isn’t planning any changes to the lineup for next season, but I’m not sure about it. I’m nervous about this guy. I don’t trust him yet.
Betty
Jun 6, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Like Katelyn and Dawn, I don’t mind product placement if the characters just happen to have certain products around or use them, but when the product becomes another character in the episode, that’s just too much.
I thought the Deal or No Deal thing was way too much, too long. It would have been one thing had the kids been watching it for moment, but that segment went on way too long, and like Dawn, I seriously doubt GGC had anything to do with that other than compliance.
I don’t mind when it’s something tongue in cheek like on Boston Legal - that show is hilarious, but they don’t dwell on things, they just slip something in and they’re done.
Holly
Jun 7, 2007 at 7:53 am
I agree with you guys. Remember in the second season when they went on and on about Memoirs of a Geisha and Joe held up this full page newspaper advertisement for several seconds. That annoyed me a bit, but I feel as long as it does not get in the way of the plot then it is fine. Now, the Deal or No Deal thing was a different story. That basically halted the action for quite a while. The time could have been used so much better, but NBC probably had to get there advertisement out there (like there isn’t enough advertisements for DoND, why not advertise Medium more?)
Just hearing what Dawn said about this new guy kinda worries me. I hope he likes Medium, or else who knows what might happen to it.
I haven’t been online in like a week, I have to help teach all the freshman how to march and that takes awhile.
binnie
Sep 16, 2007 at 6:19 am
I just saw the “Deal…” episode on last night’s rerun of “Medium”. Did anyone else other than me catch Howie Mandel calling Alison DuBois by the actress’s real name, “Patricia”?
Katelyn
Sep 16, 2007 at 6:56 am
Binnie,
That is so funny! I completely missed it.
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