http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4391955.stm
I know the world has got more important things to worry about, but product placement is one of those corrosive things that convinces me that we are gradually slipping into ruin. Fifteen years ago the idea of novelists and songwriters being paid to mention brands in their work have been satirical. Now it's seen as the inevitable future of advertising..
3 comments:
The ubiquity of big brands is a part of the fabric of modern life, so it's fair enough for novelists to mention them. It needn't be overtly, strongly satirical - as long as it serves some sort of necessary purpose within the context of the fiction. That might just be descriptive. Getting paid to do product placement is weak, and Fay Weldon lost a lot of respect over that. If some chick lit or airport thriller writer does so, so what? James Bond was doing it in the 60s. If they want to use real beer brands in the pub in Emmerdale, I couldn't care less. TV advertising is becoming a more difficult proposition, but still pays for most TV. The BBC should remain an ad-free zone - so Blue Peter should continue to mask the 'copydex' logo on pots of glue. Wayne's World still contatins the best examples of product placement.
i wonder what the Woolpack has on draught currently?
Actually, you can buy an Emmerdale branded real ale, so maybe its working in reverse.
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