Stephen Colbert reports, and mocks, some pretty stunning product placement on Days of Our Lives:
Thanks to Dmitriy T.M. for the tip!
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Comments 21
matt richardson: Overboard Product Placement — December 19, 2010
[...] [via Sociological Images] [...]
Jennie — December 19, 2010
This comic is done by a writer and artist in the ad agency, so they often poke fun at advertising. In this case, they also point out SOAP opera's long history of advertising. "...[Y]ou can't pretend to be scandalized by the artistic compromises of something that never aspired to art in the first place." They also link to the article in the Denver Egotist that may have started this whole thing.
http://wordsandpicturesonline.com/11-22-10.html
K — December 19, 2010
He does so much product placement on his own show, though. He's plugged chips and a soft drink, and there's also that ice cream from Ben and Jerry's.
missdisco — December 19, 2010
Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo at 'not available in your country.' It's the WorldWideWeb. Damn these networks!
Steph — December 19, 2010
And I thought a box of Cheezits on a living room table was bad. Sheesh!
Blarmb — December 19, 2010
This actually makes me want to watch that show. I love product placement. I have no idea why but whenever I see a product being blatantly advertised as part of a show or video game I can't help but smile. This took it way higher levels than I'd ever seen it before. Maybe I'm just oddball, but I think this is seriously awesome.
Alyssa — December 19, 2010
I've watched some old TV shows with my dad before, and back in the '50s products were often advertised like this on TV shows, rather than having separate commercials. It was every bit as blatant--I've seen a few where the characters would even sing the product's jingle. Of course, now when you have the product placement in the show AND the commercial breaks, you have very little actual show left.
sully r. — December 20, 2010
i'm sorry, but it's ridiculous to say this is a new low for product placement. soap operas are called soap operas because in their infancy they were sponsored almost completely by soap producers. they're like the ultimate in product sponsorship and have been for over 70 years. show me the chex mix on a pbs documentary, and THEN i'll be impressed.
robynlicious — December 21, 2010
I watch ABC soaps All my Children and One Life to Live. As a soap watcher, this is HILARIOUS. Soaps are so utterly absurd; it's why they're fun. Last year during February the ABC soaps were all shilling V8 Splash and I think it was Cambell's "Heart Healthy" soups. The product placement was about as bad. The network was trying to be heart healthy for women's health, since heart disease is a leading cause of women's deaths. I think the viewer's health was a nice ruse for advertising bucks.
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Several shows have been advertising the new Windows phone. Fox's "Bones" has been particularly bad. They've showcased the Windows phone on multiple episodes during major plot points, as well as the Sienna van that Angel drives.
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Soaps in particular are a dying genre. I'd rather see stupid product placement for funds than lose the shows because the viewership is down. Like someone else said, they're called soap operas because they were originally sponsored by (laundry) soap companies.