You may not realize it, but that episode of American Idol or How I Met Your Mother or The Vampire Diaries you just watched may have contained subtly embedded ads for a variety of products. The practice is called product placement, the intentionally seamless integration of commercial products into the narrative of a film or television program. Carrie Bradshaw's Jimmy Choo shoes, Dr. House's Macbook Pro, and Sue Sylvester's Adidas track suits are all examples of the subtle (or not so subtle) placements we've seen in recent years. In fact, the practice dates back to the beginning of television, when programs were openly sponsored by major companies (e.g. Texaco Star Theater, Hallmark Hall of Fame). Today, the practice is more covert, with many shows aiming to integrate products as naturally as possible. As a result, you may not even be aware of the presence of these products. How do you feel about this? Should programmers be mandated to inform viewers of product placements or should a viewer be savvy enough to identify those instances on his or her own? Finally, are you more bothered by the most blatant or the most subtle of product placements?
Include at least two of the following in your discussion:
- "'Smallville' Product Placement Hits New Low (About.com)
- "'Big Bang Theory' Has the Most Remembered Product Placement Among Dramas/Sitcoms; 'American Idol' Had Most Placement Overall" (TVbyTheNumbers)
- "Product Placement: Is TV Selling Out?" (TV Guide)
- "TV Shows With the Most Product Placements" (Businessweek)
Required:
- MLA Style
- Must be exactly two-full pages in length
- Works Cited page
Due: Tu 2.28 (Sec. 05) / Fr 3.02 (Sec. 49)
No comments:
Post a Comment