# Does TV's increasing reliance on in-show advertising ensure we won't be seeing scifi shows like TNG, **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 13, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-tvs-increasing-reliance-on-in-show-advertising-ensure-we-wont-be-seeing-scifi-shows-like-tng/666129 "2013-08-13T13:42:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-tvs-increasing-reliance-on-in-show-advertising-ensure-we-wont-be-seeing-scifi-shows-like-tng/666129/21 "2013-08-13T18:50:59Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Why stop there though? Lets just replace every article, verb, noun, adjective and so forth with product placement. And all clothing can be made up of corporate logos, a la _Idiocracy_. I’m not buying the idea that sci-fi stories will be less attractive to advertisers. Apple would be perfectly happy to have their logo on a device that seems magical to us, for example. (Maybe a little button with the iconic image, that a character takes out of his pocket, presses, and is instantly surrounded by a holo-deck-like environment, in which he converses with whoever he was “phoning.”) ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-tvs-increasing-reliance-on-in-show-advertising-ensure-we-wont-be-seeing-scifi-shows-like-tng/666129/22 "2013-08-13T19:19:24Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > I don’t think it’s enough anymore for advertisers to only have their logo somewhere in the background. The characters have to interact with the product in some way. I suppose that must be what’s holding them back from making an adaptation of _Game of Thrones_ and _Spartacus_ for TV. And I thought it was a bit weird that everybody uses an iPhone on _Downton Abbey_ and _Boardwalk Empire_. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-tvs-increasing-reliance-on-in-show-advertising-ensure-we-wont-be-seeing-scifi-shows-like-tng/666129/23 "2013-08-13T19:30:59Z")
Product placement doesn’t bother me much. What annoys the shit out of me is those little promo things in the bottom of the screen for other shows on that crappy network. They should be banned. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-tvs-increasing-reliance-on-in-show-advertising-ensure-we-wont-be-seeing-scifi-shows-like-tng/666129/24 "2013-08-13T19:44:37Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > And all clothing can be made up of corporate logos, a la _Idiocracy_. > > I’m not buying the idea that sci-fi stories will be less attractive to advertisers. Apple would be perfectly happy to have their logo on a device that seems magical to us, for example. (Maybe a little button with the iconic image, that a character takes out of his pocket, presses, and is instantly surrounded by a holo-deck-like environment, in which he converses with whoever he was “phoning.”) That was kind of my thinking as well; for the tech companies, it’s a chance to show themselves off as being both relevant in the future and having some neato futuristic gadget. Hell, there was product placement everywhere in “Minority Report”. Even if the cars didn’t look like ours, they still had Mercedes emblems (what I recall seeing). Plus there’s a lot of worth I think to trying to place your products in a futuristic setting; showing a guy drinking a Coke in the 22nd century is a pretty powerful statement that you plan to be there in the long haul. And in the context of the movie, it says you HAVE been there all that time. The only place it falls down is in settings not of this world- it would be hard to have Han Solo drinking a Coke or smoking Chesterfields “long long ago, in a galaxy far far away” And for the op… I’ll point out that while Garibaldi may not have “Binged” things on his smartphone, there was certainly a Zima ad or two in the Zocalo, which was pretty blatant product placement for the mid-1990s. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-tvs-increasing-reliance-on-in-show-advertising-ensure-we-wont-be-seeing-scifi-shows-like-tng/666129/25 "2013-08-13T20:53:56Z")
> [@](#): > > And for the op… I’ll point out that while Garibaldi may not have “Binged” things on his smartphone, there was certainly a Zima ad or two in the Zocalo, which was pretty blatant product placement for the mid-1990s. Ahem, post #12. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-tvs-increasing-reliance-on-in-show-advertising-ensure-we-wont-be-seeing-scifi-shows-like-tng/666129/26 "2013-08-13T20:58:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Hey, Zima is still going strong in 2258. That was a joke, son! A _joke_! ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-tvs-increasing-reliance-on-in-show-advertising-ensure-we-wont-be-seeing-scifi-shows-like-tng/666129/27 "2013-08-13T21:00:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Product placement doesn’t bother me much. What annoys the shit out of me is those little promo things in the bottom of the screen for other shows on that crappy network. They should be banned. Bottom fungus. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-tvs-increasing-reliance-on-in-show-advertising-ensure-we-wont-be-seeing-scifi-shows-like-tng/666129/28 "2013-08-13T21:05:55Z")
Sorry, didn’t mean to make three posts in a row but the edit function is being weird (giving me a blank field when I try to update my message). A coming technology is replaceable content - this year, people will see a character chug a Coke; the image of that can is replaceable and in disc or streaming or rerun release, it can be remapped to any other can image. (Think green-screening or ELVAS - the system used on baseball backstops). It’s not limited to simple things like cans, but can be used for clothes, background signs, and quite a few other things. So now instead of arguing whether or not Han shot first or whether the eeeevil gummint types were carrying rifles or giant radios, we’ll be able to argue about what brand of beer Batman Jr. was drinking in the 2016 blockbuster. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-tvs-increasing-reliance-on-in-show-advertising-ensure-we-wont-be-seeing-scifi-shows-like-tng/666129/29 "2013-08-13T21:27:47Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > A coming technology is replaceable content - this year, people will see a character chug a Coke; the image of that can is replaceable and in disc or streaming or rerun release, it can be remapped to any other can image. (Think green-screening or ELVAS - the system used on baseball backstops). It’s not limited to simple things like cans, but can be used for clothes, background signs, and quite a few other things. This already exists and has been used by syndicators since 2010. > **[Dotdash Meredith - America's Largest Digital & Print Publisher](https://www.dotdashmeredith.com)** > > Dotdash Meredith is America's largest digital and print publisher, with brands including PEOPLE, Better Homes & Gardens, Allrecipes, Investopedia, Verywell, and more! Learn about career opportunities, our leadership team, and how we can help you... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-tvs-increasing-reliance-on-in-show-advertising-ensure-we-wont-be-seeing-scifi-shows-like-tng/666129.md?page=1)