Thursday, May 17th, 2012
The United Kingdom might as well join the rest of the world and embrace product placement. Sure, they?re balking now but sooner or later, they will rule in favor of it. It?s inevitable
As we know, UK culture secretary Andy Burnham is the biggest opponent of product placement, which has long been banned by British ministers. The idea has always been that programming is tainted when product placement is a part of it. While one can see where they?re coming on this, there?s no question that product placement is worthy of consideration.
Money raised via integration can offset production costs, and if a placement is done right, it can enhance production quality by adding realism. Let?s face it; we live in a branded world. That said, the UK doesn?t have to go full throttle with product placement. Childrens? programming and newscasts should stay off limits in terms of product placement, but there?s little harm in at least testing the waters on prime-time programming. Taking baby steps might be the best way for the UK to really evaluate their existing guidelines and potentially modify it.
It?s clear the government will at least consider it in some form or another anyway. Next month, they?re expected to release a report on product placement. And recently Burnham has even admitted that he?ll keep an open mind on the subject when weighing the pros and cons. It?s a start. Look, Italy just lifted their ban earlier this year, and while it?s oft-criticized in the states, product placement has helped tremendously in these DVR / commercial-skipping days. The UK should give it a try.
By Jon Chattman, iTVX.com
