# 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:** 15\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/81 "2012-12-10T16:50:36Z")
There was a white paper from the Writers Guild back in 2005 complaining about some of the worse kinds of ‘product integration’. It doesn’t seem like things are any better now. [Are You SELLING to Me?](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wga.org%2FuploadedFiles%2Fnews_and_events%2Fpress_release%2F2005%2Fwhite_paper.pdf&ei=nBHGUOG6N8Sy2wXXk4HYDQ&usg=AFQjCNEi_dSSx3LvyuuLXtLW83fsG0FBWQ&cad=rja) ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/82 "2012-12-10T18:03:00Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > 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. Well, they also did fan service in one scene where the other charector said (to the affect) - “this isnt a commercail - lets go already” ---
**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, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/83 "2012-12-10T18:24:48Z")
> [@Jman](#): > > 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. Did they ever show or mention the brand? I don’t recall that they did. If not, then it wasn’t a product placement. It was just something they thought was funny. No company is going to pay for placement that doesn’t actually show you what they’re selling. > [@](#): > > “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). Well, that kind of proves that it _wasn’t_ product placement. An advertiser is not going to pay for an incorrect description of the product. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/84 "2012-12-10T22:38:46Z")
The most obnoxiously forced product placement I’ve ever seen was from the movie “Disclosure” (the one where Demi Moore is sexually harassing Michael Douglas for some inexplicable reason.) At one point Douglas’ character goes to the lounge for a Coke and we see the Coke machine. Fine, people do this. But after he pushes the button for his Coke the camera cuts to an extreme close-up of the can coming into the vending chute, with the letters “COKE” lining up perfectly and filling the ENTIRE movie screen. Seriously, it was all of a sudden: **COKE** It boggles the mind how much time they must’ve wasted filming that over and over and over until it lined up just right. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/85 "2012-12-11T02:28:37Z")
The more overt ones can be annoying, but I just chalk them up as commercials and don’t worry about it too much and kind of enjoy the effort whent hey manage to integrate it better. Figure I can’t complain too much that the product I’m watching for free because it lives on an advertiser model has decided it needs to keep the ads in front of me when I’ve skipping over the old fashioned ones. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/86 "2012-12-11T02:37:17Z")
> [@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. > > Putting a damn giant T-Mobile banner on set would be less irritating. Seriously. I love Shark Tank, but those ads are not only distracting, but are actively damaging to the premise of the show. That’s not real at all; it’s contrived, forced, and scripted. Terrible ---
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/87 "2012-12-11T14:08:11Z")
The latest episode of Pawn Stars (Season 6, episode 14) had 3 product placements for Skype. That is getting ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/88 "2012-12-11T17:48:11Z")
> [@simple\_homer](#): > > The latest episode of Pawn Stars (Season 6, episode 14) had 3 product placements for Skype. > That is getting ridiculous. Came in to post this today. When you have the old man saying “That’s a pretty great piece of technology!” it’s time to take a step back methinks. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/89 "2012-12-13T19:48:36Z")
In last night’s rather genealogy-heavy episode of _CSI_, you’d have thought that [Ancestry.com](http://Ancestry.com) was an official sponsor given the way one of the guest stars gushed about how wonderful it is. I have to say, it was a little off-putting. It took me out of the episode for a moment. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/90 "2012-12-13T20:36:05Z")
CSI. Product placement. Dell. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/91 "2012-12-14T01:08:39Z")
I remember a good one. In the **Dragnet** movie they keep getting worse cars as they trash old one, until the wind up with a Yugo, “the cutting edge of Serbo-Croatian technology.” ---
**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 14, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/92 "2012-12-14T03:00:32Z")
Again, there’s no way that that was product placement. Just because a brand name is mentioned in a show or movie doesn’t mean it is product placement. ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/93 "2012-12-14T04:29:12Z")
It seems THE PRICE IS RIGHT is nothing but 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 14, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/94 "2012-12-14T04:42:52Z")
> [@audit1](#): > > It seems THE PRICE IS RIGHT is nothing but product placement. “The Pice Is Right” comes from the ancient American TV tradition of incorporating sponsors’ ads right into the show. It demonstrates that there’s really nothing new about product placement. ---
**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 19, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297/95 "2012-12-19T18:18:26Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Did they ever show or mention the brand? I don’t recall that they did. If not, then it wasn’t a product placement. It was just something they thought was funny. No company is going to pay for placement that doesn’t actually show you what they’re selling. > > Well, that kind of proves that it _wasn’t_ product placement. An advertiser is not going to pay for an incorrect description of the product. Show? Yes…closeups on the Windows interface, etc. Oh, and each of the blatant references was immediately followed by a commercial break where the first ad was a loud, vibrant Microsoft Surface ad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-placement-in-tv-episodes/643297.md?page=4)