Product placements are the new ads

Lately I’ve been watching way way too much streaming TV episodes on the internet. Currently the shows I’m embarrassing myself by enjoying are the apprentice and top model. The really interesting thing about both of these shows is that they tackle the problem of rampart streaming and downloads by just putting the ads into the TV content. With an episode of the apprentice the format runs like this. They meet trump somewhere and he tells them about a great building of his and introduces a great company that he loves like Microsoft. Then the teams build different ads for the new x-box which we see both of and they get judged, and then the winning team goes to some diamond company or something and gets free things. Each episode is jam packed with product placements, product mentions and the Donald’s glowing endorsements.

With top model Tyra Banks honestly gets her face in front of the camera every two seconds, she certainly takes the position that she is her own brand which she relentlessly plugs. The challenges on Top Model ranging from the models doing cool photo shoots in water tanks or to starring in Tyra’s film clip which later played full length at the episode end. Apparently she had a music career. The shows sponsors also get heavy play with phrases like ‘the models must go to the L’Oreal hair and makeup room now' getting used with no trace of irony.

It’s a testimony to how successful a tactic it is, with top model now in its 10th cycle and also having national versions all over the place like Germany’s top model with Heidi and apprentice having about 6 sessions itself. The only problem with this idea is if the shows get taken over by the placements and the show and characters are pushed to the background. One big example of this was in the most recent finale of apprentice when Shawn was picked as the apprentice instead of actually being able to say his thanks and give a bit of a speech, he was pushed off screen by trump to run down stairs and stand by this car that he’d won.

Unlike apprentice, top model hasn’t ever sacrificed the actual shows watch-ability to the placements; they just cram them in where they can. The good thing about this tactic is that many more shows will start to become available online because companies can be charged for these pseudo ads. What I’m hoping is that soon enough people be able to produce web shows throw in a few product placements and be able to pay their rent. It’s funny because the internet hasn’t only throw a gear in the works for the music industry but the entertainment industry has totally changed as well. The most popular shows on TV are now reality shows which are very cheap to make and it would be fair to say that a lot of shows would get downloaded or watched online more than on actual TV. Hopefully this will mean more independent shows.