This powerpoint explores a case study centered around product placement in the United States vs. Abroad

1. CASE 3F
Was That an Apple Computer I Just Saw? A
Comparison of Product Placement in U.S.
Network Television and Abroad
Strategic Communication

2. Product Placement
• According to Suggett (2017), “Product placement is the
promotion of branded goods and services within the
context of a show or movie (or even personal videos)
rather than an explicit advertisement” (Web).
• Product placement is growing and more than 100,000
products were placed in American network television
between 2004-2005 (Manly, 2005).
• Hollywood calls product placement “brand integration”
(Patterson and Wilkins, 2014, page 74).

3. Recent History
• During “Advertising Week” in 2005, writers protested
product placement
 Wanted a say in how certain products would be placed in
their scripts (Patterson and Wilkins, 2014).
Wanted a share of the profits that were raised from the
placement of these products in their scripts (Patterson
and Wilkins, 2014).

4. Technological Advances.. Is Product
Placement Needed in the U.S.?
• Due to the technological advances in recent years, many
viewers are able to use TiVo and fast forward functions on
remotes to skip the advertisements in commercials, which
is hurting the advertising industry (Patterson and Wilkins,
2014).
• President of Warner Bros. Television Group Bruce
Rosenmblum discusses the need for product placement
today by saying that “At the end of the day, if we are
unable to satisfy advertisers appetites to deliver
messages new ways to viewers, then we’re destined to
have a broken model” (Manly, 2005, A14).

5. Is Product Placement Ethical?
• Many believe that product placement could snowball out
of control, and eventually all of our TV and movies
would be advertisement, which could lead to the decline
of viewers for TV shows and movies and a loss in
revenue.
• University of Syracuse professor Robert Thompson
explained that product placement could eventually take
away from the storytelling behind movies and television,
and turn them into straight advertisements.
 “It makes me anxious if creators will be told to integrate
a brand into a story because someone’s paying for it.”
Thompson said. “Maybe other stories won’t be told
because they aren’t as amenable as product
placement.” (Stanley, 2002, page 32).

6. Why Ethics Are Questioned
• There is a questions of whether or not integrating a
product into a TV show is authentic and trustworthy,
compared to being intrusive advertising in that TV show or
movie (Patterson and Wilkins, 2014).
• Will people stop watching TV programs if all they see are
advertisements? Or will they see their favorite stars
drinking a coffee from their favorite place and go out and
buy more of the coffee?
• Does integrating a product into a movie intrude on the
entertainment of the movie and the viewer watching it?

7. Product Placement Laws in Different
Countries
• United States
The FCC has rules for product placement which they
consider “embedded advertising” and it is subject to the
“sponsorship identification” rule (Cicelski, 2010).
 Sponsorship Identification Rule: “If the program producer
receives anything of value, directly or indirectly, in
exchange for causing material to be broadcast, the
sponsorship and the identity of the sponsor must be
disclosed on-air” (Cicelski, 2010, Web.)
Example: A Coca-Cola cup being placed in front of the
judges on American Idol (Cicelski, 2010).

8. Product Placement Laws in Different
Countries
• Europe
Not all countries in Europe have the same laws regarding
product placement.
The U.K. has restrictions on alcohol, foods high in salt,
sugar, and fat, and gambling and infant formulas (Morris,
2011).
France restricts alcohol, firearms, and infant formula
(Morris, 2011).
Netherlands restricts alcohol between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.
(Morris, 2011).

9. The Advertising Code of Ethics
• The first principle in the Advertising Code of Ethics is truth
and high ethical standards
The United States follows the FCC guidelines that the
sponsorship must be made public on-air if the producer is
obtaining anything of value from it (Cicelski, 2010).
They are following this first principle of being truthful to
the public with their advertisements and product
placements.
This also relates to principle #4 which is that advertisers
should clearly disclose all material conditions…”
(American Advertising Federation, 2017, page 6).

10. Does the Advertising Code of Ethics
determine if Product Placement is
Ethical?
• Principle # 3 is “distinguishing advertising, pubic relations, and
corporate communications from news and editorial content and
entertainment, both online and offline” (American Advertising
Federation, 2017, page 5 ).
Although this focuses more on advertisements on social media, it
relates to advertisements on the TV in the sense that “if consumers
are unaware the “news” or “entertainment” they are viewing is actually
advertising, they are being mislead and treated unethically” (American
Advertising Federation, 2017, page 5).
According to the Advertising Code of Ethics, it is ethical to place
products in TV shows as long as the viewer is informed someway,
whether it be at the beginning of the show or in the credits at the end,
that the sponsorship is bringing money or value to the producer.

11. John Stuart Mill
• John Mill believed in utilitarianism, which he believes “it may be
ethical to harm one person for the benefit of the larger group”
(Patterson and Wilkins, 2014, page 10).
• Mill focuses on the outcome rather than the actor or action (Patterson
and Wilkins, 2017).
• Mill would ask the question is the outcome for the greater good of the
people?
• In this case, many wonder does product placement hurt or benefit the
viewer of the TV show, and if they are being informed that they are
seeing an advertisement while watching a TV show. Is it trustworthy
or intrusive? And is it the “price” we pay for free television? (Patterson
and Wilkins, 2014).

12. Conclusion…
• “Success in product placement still comes down to whether the
placement fits the plot” (Patterson and Wilkins, 2017, page 75).
• According to Jonathan Prince, who created American Dreams, “The
needle we have to thread is to have brand integration that is effective
enough to have resonance but subtle enough so that it doesn’t
offend” (Manly, 2005, A16).
• Product placement is supported by the American Advertising
Federation Code of Ethics
• As long as television producers place the disclaimer in their program,
it is ethical to place products for advertising and public relations
purposes in television.

13. References
• Sugget, P. (2017, June 9). “The Delicate Art of Product Placement Advertising.” The Balance.
Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/the-delicate-art-of-product-placement-advertising-38454
• Manly, L. (2005, October 3). “U.S. network TV shows turn props into dollars.” International Herald
Tribune, pp. A14, 16.
• Patterson, P. & Wilkins, L. (2014). Media Ethics Issues and Cases. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
• Stanley, T.L. (2002, May 13) “Prime time for sale: product placement in network TV has taken on
larger proportions as advertisers try to break through ad clutter. But some critics fear the practice
could end up influencing content more than it should.” MEDIAWEEK Vol. 12 (Issue 19). Retrieved
from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=5&sid=9eda7a39-bd9e-4989-951c-
a4491b988edb%40sessionmgr4006&bdata=#AN=edsgcl.86054094&db=edsgea
• Cicelski, P. (2010, September 2). “Product Placement and the FCC.” Comm Law Center. Retrieved
from https://www.commlawcenter.com/2010/09/product-placement-and-the-fcc.html
• Morris, J. (2011, June 13). “How European Media Companies are Dealing With Product Placement.”
Advertising Age. Retrieved from http://adage.com/article/global-news/european-media-companies-
dealing-product-placement/228121/
• American Advertising Federation. (2017). Retrieved from
http://www.aaf.org/AAFMemberR/OUR_EFFORTS/Ethics/AAFMemberR/Efforts/Advertising_Ethcis.
aspx?hkey=2e62934f-344e-473f-a7d2-30e6adad3229