The Differences in Product Placement

In discussion this week we talked about the occurrence of product placement. However, I believe there are many different types of product placement that are so discrete they have gone under the radar for most viewers. In my opinion, the best example of product placement is not the American Idol judges drinking coca-cola cups at their tables, although effective, I feel it is too obvious. The best form of product placement is the type that appears as just a simple attempt to inform the viewer of information while actually fooling the audience into becoming a consumer.
Perfect examples of this are the very popular reality series The Hills and The City on MTV. Whenever one of the show’s characters go to a restaurant for dinner or lunch, on the bottom of the screen it will show in small letters the name and location of the restaurant. Most viewers may perceive this as clearly informing the audience that this is in fact “real” and they are attending an actual restaurant and not a staged location. However, the true reason for this action is to promote this restaurant or other location. In response many viewers who are in the areas of Los Angeles or New York City may recognize the name of a store from the show and of course take a look inside. Another discrete product placement is again featured on MTV, the placement of songs in their television shows. Normally songs are heard on shows in the background to enhance the mood for the viewer depending on the scene, however, on many reality shows featured on MTV including The Real World, The Challenge, and once again The City and The Hills, when a song is being played, on the bottom of the screen in small letters the name of the song and artist appears. Many viewers may perceive this as the station just informing viewers of what song they are listening to in case they were curious, while it is in fact another form of product placement for the artist to be noticed. Instead of the music enhancing the scene, the music becomes the main spectacle and the scene enhances the music instead. After all, MTV does stand for Music Television.
Overall, while the American Idol judges drinking from coca-cola glasses may give viewers the urge to grab a coke, I find that the less obvious product placements are more effective because sometimes in your face advertisements are more likely to annoy viewers and backfire for the product. Whereas hidden product placement will trick the viewer into becoming a buyer without them ever knowing they had been fooled.