Not just product placement, now commercials in shows

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by [email protected], Jan 17, 2012.

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  1. CraigVC

    CraigVC Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Too late; Showtime's Dexter and Nokia cell phones is one example of cell phone brand placemnt:

    http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/04/screen-grabs-nokia-n8-endorsed-by-homicidal-maniac/

    http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/21/screen-grabs-nokia-n96-preserves-the-evidence-on-dexter/

    http://coolspotters.com/cell-phones/nokia-e71/and/tv-shows/dexter#medium-299854

    Craig.
     
  2. Obtuse1

    Obtuse1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    But, strangely, no soap.
     
  3. Obtuse1

    Obtuse1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    An entire episode of 'Aqua Teen Hunger Force" was devoted to Boost Mobile:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OzLxpeL0UA

    Also on the CBS Drama "Jericho", after a US nuclear strike, apparently only the Sprint cell network survives.
     
  4. dougotte

    dougotte Petty, Annoying Dilettante

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    There was a pretty obnoxious advert for the Prius in Warehouse 13 last season. She actually sounded like a salesperson, calling out the "premium sound system" etc.

    The worst I've seen was on The Middle last night. The entire episode was a commercial for the new Passat. It's unfortunate, because the writing on that show has improved this season, making it actually funny rather than bland. Until last night, that is...

    Doug
     
  5. Laservampire

    Laservampire Down with this sort of thing

  6. jukin

    jukin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lancaster, PA, USA
    Just about everything that exists gets a backlash eventually. I'm hoping and praying that I live long enough to see the backlash against rampant marketing that invades just about every aspect of people's lives.
     
  7. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca

    :righton: :righton: :righton: Oh,"...plop-plop, fizz-fizz, oh what a relief..."...that would be!
     
  8. lv70smusic

    lv70smusic Senior Member

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    I fear that at some point, marketers will develop a way to infiltrate our dreams with their ads. :shake:;)

     
  9. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca

    "everything you know is wrong" and you probably don't even know it! :laugh: They must have entered our dreamscape already...the way we behave!
     
  10. agentalbert

    agentalbert Senior Member

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    I didn't mind that as it allowed the show to stay on the air and continue. They didn't really work it into the plot, but did make it sorta comedic. They had the overweight store manager "Big Mike" often shown with a Subway in his office, wheras when the show started it was usually a box of donuts.

    What I can't stand are the increasingl intrusive pop up adds that actually go over the show and cover up things. NBC seems the worst at this, but they all do it. TV shows are getting to be more and more like web pages.
     
  11. Anthology123

    Anthology123 Senior Member

    Big Bang Theory frequently mentions Penny's place of employment, The Cheesecake Factory. The restaurant set looks more like a Chili's than a Cheesecake Factory.
     
  12. rmath84

    rmath84 Forum Resident

    I wouldn't mind seeing more of the Sota turntable and tube amp though.
     
  13. mfp

    mfp Senior Member

    Location:
    Paris, France
    This is so that people who download the show illegally get to see the ad as well.

    Every poster against copyright laws and pro-Mega on these other threads: this is what the future holds for us when all culture is free.

    Soon every album will be like The Who's Sell Out (already is on free Spotify!)
     
  14. jukin

    jukin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lancaster, PA, USA
    Doesn't matter now. The genie is out of the bottle. Even if every piracy site, torrent site and newsgroup was shut down and piracy eliminated, now that the precedent has been set for including adverts into storylines, there will be no going back. Money talks and everything else walks.
     
  15. ridernyc

    ridernyc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida, USA
    They have been sticking ads everywhere and lengthening commercials for decades. If anything started it it was VCRs. This more about people legally skipping ads then downloads. I remember news stories about how they were trying to figure out ways to make people stop fast forwarding.

    And it's not just TV. Next time you are outside your house look at how many places they have figured out to stick ads, anywhere someones eye lands they put an ad.

    They even have them in the bottom of holes on golf courses. I'm now treated to loud ads that play on a video screen while I'm pumping gas, is that because of all the people stealing gas?

    No it's because a large portion of economy is based on ad revenue. Just like every other industry they constantly want to show growth and figure out more ways to move their product.
     
  16. Mike from NYC

    Mike from NYC Senior Member

    Location:
    Surprise, AZ
    You too?

    The batteries in my remote die frequently because of all the skips.
     
  17. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    Now, that is trenchant!
     
  18. KT88

    KT88 Senior Member

    According to advertisers, yes. You just pegged the real issue as did the fellow who said "too many DVRs out there". The problem for advertisers is that now with 150+ channels entering each home at the same time, no viewer has time to watch it all. If they want to watch TV a lot, they set their DVR and record shows while they are out or watching another program. They can and likely do set the DVR to skip all commercials. Sooo... the advertisers who are paying to have their message heard get nothing but a bill from the cable or satellite company. It then becomes necessary to insert ads into the shows to have any of them seen at all. Sad what technology can do to media, eh? No way around paying the bills though.
    -Bill
     
  19. lugnut2099

    lugnut2099 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Missouri
    There was an anecdote about this issue on one of the Simpsons DVD commentary tracks I thought was amusing. They talk about how everyone in the writer's room was jealous of Seinfeld, because they'd slip in references to products and always get rewarded with lots of free swag from the companies they mentioned. The Simpsons guys decided to try this for themselves on several occasions by throwing in gratuitous references to products (including a whole song-and-dance number for Armour Hot Dogs and the forgotten Chicken Tonight)...and never once received anything.

    (Actually, it was said they did once receive an entire case of Breath Assure mints with a letter attached asking them to please reference the product on the show. The line they pitched was Homer saying something to the extent of "Hey Marge, did you hear that Breath Assure gives you cancer!?" - Needless to say, the joke didn't make it in.)
     
  20. agentalbert

    agentalbert Senior Member

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    I'm not aware of a DVR that can identify what is show and what is commercial and skip the commercial. That would be nice. I have to fast forward over the commercials. Advertisers should take heart - even though I'm not watching, I still see them. You have to pay attention to know when to stop. So while I may not hear what is said, I still see "Ford...Nokia...T-Mobile...Warhorse movie, etc".
     
  21. ridernyc

    ridernyc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida, USA
    They made VCR's that could do this, the networks quickly learned how to break the functionality.
     
  22. Obtuse1

    Obtuse1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    The networks also frequently disable fast forward capability for on-demand programming available through many cable systems.

    It can be hit or miss though. On our system Fox shows usually get this treatment, while CBS shows do not.
     
  23. KT88

    KT88 Senior Member

    Shows how much DVR & TV I watch. I thought that was the major selling point. Somewhere I have heard that there was a commercial skipping technology available for recording. Maybe that was just on VCR. I think the idea still applies to some extent as agentalbert relates that he just fast-forwards past them.

    The issue for advertisers is that consumers are having way too many channels competing for their attention. They are simply overwhelmed with choices and getting any sort of information about a product out is a bitch. Not that everyone wants what the advertiser is selling, but some might be interested and never know about it. Here, ignorance may truly be bliss for the consumer who has already consumed. It's a challenge for marketing firms everywhere though. For those that love their silly commercials, there is always Super Bowl Sunday!
    -Bill
     
  24. agentalbert

    agentalbert Senior Member

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    The content would have to be marked with some flag (that the DVR can read) indicating this is a commercial, this is a show, etc. It could be done, but why would they make it that easy? This could actually be very useful in helping record programs where the start time gets adjusted due to a game running long or something else.

    I think some cable or satellite providers offer DVR's with a skip button pre-timed to move forward a set amount of time, as most commercial breaks are very similar in length. I know with my first Time Warner cable DVR it used to be if I hit >> three times to move forward at the 3X rate, I would do a quick count to 7 and hit play. This almost always left me about 2-3 seconds before the show resumed. So I imagine the commercial skip feature is just a jump forward button set to move a specific amount. If there were a very short commercial break, however (like happens during basketball games when there is a 20 second timeout), the skip button would likely go to far.
     
  25. ridernyc

    ridernyc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida, USA
    Tivo lets you skip forward instantly in 30 second increments. Most cable boxes force you to watch even when there is a 30 second skip button. This is all due to pressure from the networks. There is to my knowledge no DVR that will automatically skip commercials with one button press, they all just skip a set amount of time per press.

    The 30 second skip is the perfect invention for Football. Record the first 40 minutes of the game. Every time they cut to a break 30 second skip 4-5 times and they are ready to snap the ball,
     
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