# Product Placement in TV Episodes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 7, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297 "2012-12-07T14:36:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/61 "2012-12-09T04:13:08Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Most blatant I’ve seen has gotta be **Chuck**. For no reason, they would stop in the middle of the show and wax eloquent about Subway sandwiches, going ingredient by ingredient. It took several minutes. Totally realistic because I believe that Big Mike lived on Subway and Dunkin’ Donuts, like all other retail managers and employees. ETA: A 6" Cold-Cut Combo would hit the spot and is only $2, for a limited time only. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/62 "2012-12-09T04:53:47Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Somewhere between 1960 and 1965, I think. I’m sure I remember sponsored episodes of the Dick van Dyke show, but by Star Trek time ('66) it was gone. Shows might have gotten too expensive for one sponsor. I don’t remember characters doing ads though - that might have happened when I was too young to get it, but I have examples on my DVDs. I have seasons 1 & 2 of **The Lucy Show** on DVD. Both sets have original commercials with Vivian Vance & the actors who played the kids (never Lucille Ball). They’re always in character & the ads are shot on the same sets; sometimes they even reference events that happened in that particular episode). ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/63 "2012-12-09T06:31:38Z")
Oh man. I just saw another episode of \*\*Bones \*\*that had really obnoxious product placement. It was the one that aired on Nov 26 (clearing out my DVR) and there was scene where Bones & Seely are driving and Seely says something like “My new Prius can get GPS navigation to the location on the screen.” Cut to a CU of the screen showing the map. “Yeah it’s a really good feature. It does so much blah blah blah.” Seriously they spent the whole scene talking about the Prius. Ah! And I just found that first \*\*Bones \*\*product placement I had mentioned earlier: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/J4horzn9R7s/hqdefault.jpg "Toyota Prius ad placement") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4horzn9R7s) ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/64 "2012-12-09T07:01:59Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > On **The Mod Squad** , the hip young crew would blend into the subculture by driving around in new Ford station wagons. The F.B.I TV series which ran from 1965 to 1974 was also sponsored by Ford. Well, as you would expect, the agents drove Fords. But they took it a step further. Every taxi cab shown was a Ford, every ambulance, Ford. Every car driving on the streets were Fords. Following a car? Ford. Car coming from the other direction? Ford. If they were driving through a town or neighborhood, \*every car that was parked \*on the street was a Ford. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/65 "2012-12-09T07:12:14Z")
What I really couldn’t stand was _Game of Thrones_, with its constant Valyrian Steel ™ product placement. Give it a rest, guys! ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/66 "2012-12-09T07:19:43Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > ETA: A 6" Cold-Cut Combo would hit the spot and is only $2, for a limited time only. Does that come with an ice-cold, refreshing Pepsi-Cola product? _glug glug_ “AHHHH!” ---
**Author:** ![Mattie\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@Mattie\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mattie_Blue)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/67 "2012-12-09T15:00:04Z")
> [@Rubixcube](#): > > Most blatant one I can think of was the Bones episode where they shilled Avatar. The characters stared in awestruck amazement at clips from the trailer and exclaimed that it was going to be “so much more than a movie” before three of them go to camp out for good seats. I seem to remember it be a pretty crappy mystery too. It annoyed me because it wasn’t simply an awkward mention or a lingering shot on a logo, it was **an entire subplot** made purely as an advertisement. Made all the more obvious and rather annoying when I realized one of the characters in this episode (actor Joel David Moore) was one of the more major minor characters in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![alfonzos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alfonzos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alfonzos)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/68 "2012-12-09T23:26:20Z")
Who knew soap stars enjoyed Cheerios so much? [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGtig5DiTxc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGtig5DiTxc) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/69 "2012-12-10T00:09:07Z")
Don’t forget the NCIS gang watching the news on the ZNN Network… Actually, product placement (real products) doesn’t bother me at all. Walk around your own house or office; all of real life is product placement! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/70 "2012-12-10T01:03:09Z")
> [@zeldarae](#): > > I noticed this same product being placed in **Suburgatory** the other night. In fact her story line centered on how she was filling her empty time with reading her tablet, of which they went to great pains to demonstrate the detatchable keyboard. If they would not have had so many commercials for it I don’t think it would have bothered me so much. That was not product placement for the very practical reason that she always referred to it as “my tablet.” No company would pay for such generic references. For it to have been product placement, they would have to have clearly used the brand name. There was an episode of _Modern Family_ in which one of the story lines was about the debut of the Apple Ipad. Now _that_ might have ben product placement. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think the American version of The Office had a product placement deal with Chili’s Restaurants (where the gang went for the Dundies Awards) and Staples (one of the characters used a Staples-brand shredder in one scene shown in the opening credits). And you can see that they’re using Cisco VOIP phones and HP computers. The Chili’s reference was _not_ product placement, I believe, but Chili’s persuaded them to put in a disclaimer as part of the show that Chili’s would not approve of binge drinking. At one point, _The Office_ did have a deal with Hewlett-Packard. All the computer monitors prominently featured HP logos. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/71 "2012-12-10T05:08:23Z")
I notice a lot of sitcom kitchens seem to contain a distinctive yellow-and-red can of Cafe Bustelo, going way back to at least _Friends._ On my old CRT I can’t tell if it’s actually Cafe Bustelo, or a prop coffee can intended to be more generic. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/72 "2012-12-10T10:43:43Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > At one point, _The Office_ did have a deal with Hewlett-Packard. All the computer monitors prominently featured HP logos. You see, when you get to levels like this it just seems normal. Companies generally speaking get all their gear from one manufacturer. We use Dell here, so walking through here is like walking through an episode of a show with product placement. Except it is just reality. All the computers and monitors have the logo and if anyone is near a computer or monitor you are going to see the logo. That’s just reality. And purposefully covering up where you know a logo would be just draws attention to it. For these reasons, product placement for the most part just does not bother me. Reality has products and we all see them. From my chair right now I can see Dell, Intel, Windows, Taxi Stockholm, Twinnings, Coca Cola, EMC, Netgear, HTC and Apple. And that is just my desk. All I have a problem with is shilling along the lines of the Hawaii 5-0 example earlier in the thread. Discussing the product for no purpose other than advertising it. Otherwise all the shows are doing is showing reality. When you learn to accept this it really doesn’t bother you. I have seen every episode of Chuck and despite knowing that there was a deal with Subway I never really noticed it. Why? Because if this office was right next to a Subway most people would be eating Subway for lunch too. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/73 "2012-12-10T13:09:19Z")
> [@alfonzos](#): > > Who knew soap stars enjoyed Cheerios so much? [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGtig5DiTxc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGtig5DiTxc) Plus, in SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE, we see that an all-American breakfast at the wholesome Kent farm is – of course – a big fine bowl of Cheerios. (What, you think the square-jawed exponent of truth and justice from the heartland of this great nation is a Count Chocula guy? Well, you’re wrong.) ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/74 "2012-12-10T13:10:46Z")
I agree with amanset and others that " normal" product placements male sense, and less jarring than awkward generics. The awkward attention grabbing use of the surface tablet that I mentioned in the op is a different animal altogether. ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/75 "2012-12-10T15:17:13Z")
I would prefer standard ads in shows than something that “The Shark Tank” does… they try to work T-Mobile and their “Super Fast Network” into normal conversation and it is so much more annoying than any other way to advertise. Putting a damn giant T-Mobile banner on set would be less irritating. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/76 "2012-12-10T15:29:35Z")
The Suburgatory one mentioned early in the thread was by far the most jarring. I was kind of OK with the “I love my new tablet” and showing her operating it…not a big deal, but at the end when she basically broke into ‘commercial’ mode, it was the worst thing I’d ever seen. “But you see, it has full size USB ports, an integrated kickstand and a really sizeable hard drive” (which is wrong, BTW…since it uses flash memory). Terrible. They did it that badly on Bones before with a Prius, but at least that was somewhat how real life would go “wow, why did your car do that…oh, it’s this cool feature.” That conversation actually happens from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/77 "2012-12-10T15:43:29Z")
> [@chargerrich](#): > > I would prefer standard ads in shows than something that “The Shark Tank” does… they try to work T-Mobile and their “Super Fast Network” into normal conversation and it is so much more annoying than any other way to advertise. My pet theory about “Shark Tank” is that it’s all happened already. How does the show play out? Your idea gets entertainingly ridiculed as crap – but then I come on, and a Shark explains how wonderful my product is, at which point I agree to cut him in on the profits and he agrees to promote the heck out of it – and then cue another would-be success story who trots out her get-rich-quick scheme, which they sneeringly deride to delight the viewers. So now imagine I _ **didn’t** _ meet that Shark on the show; I pitched him beforehand, and agreed to cut him in on the profits, prompting him to promote it with ease: the next episode of “Shark Tank” will be one big commercial for my product – interspersed with somebody else coming out on stage to get mocked, since she still thinks _ **this** _ is the part where we pitch them. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/78 "2012-12-10T15:55:37Z")
A lot of people are referencing shows from decades ago where a particular product showed up a lot because it was a sponsor (BTW, _Bewitched_ was sponsored by Chevrolet for a while - guess what make of cars pretty much always appeared?). However, I think the OP is referring to the current trend of “in your face” product placement, where it seems that the characters are involved in a commercial for the product. Two of these come to my mind: an episode of (IIRC) _Alcatraz_ where they are driving through San Francisco and, pretty much throughout the scene, the two people in the car are commenting on how it handles, and a recent episode of _New Girl_ where Jess is a showroom model for the new Ford Fusion Hybrid (and I think they were plugging the “plug-in” Fusion Energi as well). ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/79 "2012-12-10T16:04:20Z")
The latest episode of _Wedding Band_ had a rather funny approach, I thought. There were huge banners hanging around an extended scene at a wedding reception advertising various companies/products. It was explained as the event planner selling sponsorships to off-set the $300K the father of the bride wanted to enjoy but not spend. He was a bit peeved about her solution. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/80 "2012-12-10T16:30:52Z")
Warehouse 13 has been doing this lately - setting scenes inside whatever brand of car it is so that they can chat about some cool feature or another - but it’s such a silly show to begin with that it seems kind of pointless to get upset about it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297.md?page=5)