Under the Influence

Product Placement Rules and Rulings…

We’ve commented previously on product placement – both its holistic impact on television as well as its presence in the recent Tron: Legacy film released at the end of last year. The increasing presence of this tool reflects a synergy between increasingly curated advertorial and a heightened sophistication among audiences to know well enough – but hopefully not too well – when they are being sold to.

The new James Bond film due out next year was recently announced to have accrued $45m from product placement, shattering the previous record held by Minority Report. Recent advertising rulings in the UK make it mandatory for an icon to appear in the bridge between adverts and the show, informing a viewer when a segment will feature a placement so they know to be wary. Does this not defeat the object though? Meanwhile, Ofcom last month published survey results showing that few seem to be swayed by product placement. As testimonials like the above image show (albeit tongue-in-cheek from one of our favourite Twitter followers), there is certainly something to be said for the influence of a plain ol’ sponsorship or simple advertisement. For the last word though, it would probably be useful to catch documentary maker Morgan Spurlock’s new film, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.