New York Times In recent weeks, anchors on KVVU, the Fox affiliate in Las Vegas, sat with McDonald’s iced coffees as they broadcasted the "news-and-lifestyle" portion of the morning show. But as reported by the New York Times, they weren't from an early morning drive-thru trip. In fact, the anchors hardly touched the cups. It's part of a six-month product placement deal where the on-air cast will join their new iced coffee friends, but not during the "straight news portion," said KVVU news director Adam Bradshaw; just during the lightweight stuff between 7 and 9 a.m. Other stations owned by the Meredith Broadcasting Group may have logoed cups from the Golden Arches soon too. What if a report involves...
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More than two dozen public-interest groups are calling the Federal Communications Commission to address what they call "advertainment": TV programming they say is chock full of product placement. Led by the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood (CCFC), the movement aims to prevent TV programs from becoming "Trojan horses, carrying messages that would otherwise be criticized by the public or even deemed illegal": These organizations cite as cause for concern a Nielsen report indicating a 13 percent boost in product placement spots on network TV last year—over 25,000 placements in the top ten shows. If you watch American Idol on a regular basis, you saw over 4,000 product placements in 38 episodes this year, CCFC says. In May 2007, the...
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