The Sanctity of the Sitcom
Did the MTA pay?
The New York Times ran a snapshot of where we’re at in the ‘evolution’ of Product Placement. We’ve come a long way from The Price is Right but probably will go a lot further. Writers are being tasked with brainstorming ideas for advertisers – a tremendous boon for the creative resources of advertisers- while advertisers are often elbowing their way into approval over the script. When an advertiser buys placement in an episode at about $100K, its usually bundled with a traditional advertising buy. The debate about how the advertising should be disclosed to the public and the ethics of this time of advertising are going full speed.
Personally, I think its a bit of nonsense. Teach people to think for themselves in the first place and maybe all the ‘advocacy’ groups will find some other cause.
