As of Monday regulatory body Ofcom has allowed product placement in both TV and radio. The first ever UK television placement was Nescafe’s Dolce Gusto coffee machine on ITV show ‘This Morning’. Nescafe spent £100,000 for the product to be placed for three months in the kitchen area of the set. There wasn’t an obvious logo, just the machine itself. I couldn’t even see it until it was pointed out by the Telegraph.
Not much is known how viewers will react to this new law but some professionals have suggested this is a bad idea. A report by the European Journal of Marketing found that “product placements that play a passive role... are generally perceived as less ethical” however, Ofcom’s rules make it more ethical. Product placement is a good opportunity for brands to remind viewers of products. As long as programs stick to current Ofcom regulations which state that programs need to be responsible and are not allowed to alter plot lines to fit a product then it should be fine. UK viewers are used to seeing product placement in programs that have been brought over from America so I don’t think they will be worried at all. In Glee Sue Sylvester wears Adidas all the time and even got married in an Adidas wedding dress!
The P symbol identifies programs which contain product placement. Although this could be seen as more ethical as viewers will be aware, I think this will be more interruptive of their viewing experience than the product itself. It is likely that viewers will actively look out for the product in that program rather than just enjoy the program.
The television advert that goes with this symbol is being shown on television to explain what the symbol is. I think the advert would work well without the P logo during programs. It is making sure that product placement is ethical as people understand what’s going on without the intrusion to their program.
As well as physical product placement in television in the UK, digital product placement is looking likely to become popular. Currently it is being used in other countries and there are many companies which specialise in this. A company will digitally edit a product into a scene rather than it actually being there during filming. Myriad (a company who specialises in this) discusses this on BBC radio 4. They believe this is a better way of using product placement as it will not affect viewers as the character is not referencing the product outright. They will not be obviously promoting a product which may put consumers off. It will be similar to the Nescafe machine and just be placed in the background. Digital product placement may also benefit brands as they can pay for their product to be advertised in a program but can vary each product in each country the program is aired in.
As this is new for UK viewers it is hard to predict how they will react as a result. However we can look to other countries to see what opinion may be like. Product placement has been used in America for a long time and theirs seems to be very obvious; for example Coca Cola on American Idol. If the UK becomes this obvious my views are likely to change. Having products in programs will mean that the big companies like get bigger and the small companies don’t stand a chance which will mean that monopolisation of markets will be even more prominent. For viewers however they will be more interested in if the product starts interfering with storylines. In this case consumers are likely to get annoyed and this will be detrimental to a brand’s image.
Product placements in American TV shows have not been a problem to UK viewers before. As long as Product Placement doesn’t end up like the Truman show, I don’t believe it will be detrimental to consumers viewing.
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