Product Placement

This is interesting [out-law.com]. It seems that although UK TV channels will be allowed to show programs containing product placement from the end of this month, they must be preceeded with a big 'P' logo to allow the viewers to know they're being brainwashed... er... watching such a show.

What I don't get though is why, and if it will affect all the shows on UK TV that already contain product placement... mainly the US shows that we get on syndication. OK, so if you're watching a UK TV show you can be sure it wasn't funded by advertisers unless it has the 'P' logo, but what about other stuff? Will we get a big 'P' before any of the recent Bond movies are shown? And will it matter, considering the product placement in those films is so blatently obvious? It's just like when you go into a shop and it's always obvious when the salespeople are paid on commission just from their sales technique. That said, the OFCOM guidelines clearly state "Placed products and services cannot" ... "be featured in an unduly prominent way within programmes". So yeah, I guess that means no more Bond movies at all then. Or the Transformers movie.

Likewise, why does it matter that the company in question has paid for the exposure when many shows, intentionally or otherwise, already give exposure to certain brands over others (example: every laptop or smartphone you ever see on a BBC technology show seems to be made by Apple)? Are we going to see an entire breakdown of the TV company's finances? What makes the advertising budget so special?

I say, just let it go. Allow the product placement if you must, but if it gets too annoying most smart people will just switch off. I rarely watch any non-BBC channel purely because I get pissed off with adverts.