As the price of advertising on television has increased, companies and their advertising agencies have been looking for more cost productive ways of marketing. A major way of tackling this issue is through the use of product placement in movies and television. With every new movie release or every new episode of a sitcom, it becomes more and more apparent that advertisers are going to stick with this medium as an effective advertising device. Watching TV or movies as recent as ten years ago, the products you saw were very generic in nature and brand names were rarely seen. But the days of seeing a soft drink can labeled simply "Cola" in the refrigerator on your favorite show are a thing of the past as a new wave of advertising has emerged.

In the world of television, one of the most dreadful words to advertisers is "zapping." The term zapping came about with the invention of the remote control. It denotes the quick reaction by a viewer to change the channel at the sight of a commercial. When viewers would have to leave the comfort of their chair or sofa just to switch stations, advertisers often had a "captured" audience. Companies are finding that the conventional w

Not too many years ago, plugging products on network TV was prohibited, but now networks are "more than eager to oblige" (Gunther). Since the networks have been producing their own shows, they have seen this type of advertising as a wonderful opportunity. They not only can make money by plugging specific products in their television shows, but also joint promotions with companies are a huge asset. A prime example of a product placement joint promotion would be Dr. Pepper's relationship and promotion on Party of Five. In this partnership, Party of Five star, "Neve Campbell grabs a clearly labeled Dr. Pepper out of the refrigerator; [in return] the soft drink company promoted the show with advertising on its 12-packs" (Gunther). These types of barter agreements are growing in popularity because there is no money exchanged, and both companies receive very positive promotion.

Though most networks view product placement as beneficial form of advertising, not all networks have given into this advertising format. They do not want to risk of offending a paying advertiser who is paying for a standard commercial time slot, and don't want to cheapen the look of prime time. An insider from NBC stated "We don't want to turn Central Perk on Friends into a Starbucks." (qtd. in Gunther) With a constant growth in popularity, it is difficult to believe that NBC will hold out much longer against product placement.

Gunther, Marc. "Now Starring in Party of Five--Dr Pepper: IS THIS SPIN CITY OR THE HOME SHOPPING NETWORK?" Fortune 17 April 2000. Infortrac

Product placement has definitely drawn mixed feelings from the consumers, but the fact is, it is a very effective and efficient way of advertising. Thirty second and minute long commercial spots have gotten terribly expensive, and advertisers know that consumers have their finger on the remote ready to "zap" the channel. As technology provides the consumer with efficiency, marketers a

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