The NBCs Of Product Placement
Product placements, also known as “product integration.” You’ve seen them countless times, and when done correctly, you might not have even noticed. From movies to TV shows, advertisers sneak in products like soft drinks and snacks, or even bigger products like cars and so on. The possibilities are endless and can be effective, assuming you use a little tact and not shine a spotlight on what’s really going on.
Some 30-second spots for the upcoming Dreamworks film How To Train Your Dragon have been integrated into live coverage of the Olympics, and some viewers aren’t happy about it. Recently, Bob Costas went from talking about Bode Miller’s performance to what sounded like a segue about the snowboarding competition. Then something very strange happened — here’s what Costas said:
Still to come, the first day of snowboarding competition at Cypress. Though the sport has only been in the Olympics for about a decade, it has a much longer history. In fact, the people of Dreamworks have imagined what it would have been like in the times of the Vikings of old. So old we’re not talking about Brett Faver or even Fran Tarkenton, take a look.
A 30-second spot that was made specially for the Olympics came next. It was narrated by Craig Ferguson, and he explained how viking snowboarding was created in 1010 by a young man who just happens to be the main character of How To Train Your Dragon.
I’m all for product placements, but I like them confined to entertainment platforms like movies and TV shows. When you start putting product placements in news programs, and you make it so painfully obvious, that’s where the trouble starts. The viewers will know what’s happening and I don’t think they’ll appreciate it. “Angry” is not the mindset you really want your advertising targets to have.
When I think of product placements, there’s one Wayne’s World clip that always comes to mind:
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