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A coalition of 23 advocacy and consumer groups want the FCC to adopt a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on product placement and product integration.
The coalition, which consists of such agencies as The Benton Foundation, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Dads and Daughters, Free Press, Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ, Parents for Ethical Marketing, Parents Television Council and the Praxis Project, says that product placement and integration are done too frequently, turning broadcast TV shows into infomercials.
In a letter to the FCC, the coalition pointed out the increase of product placement and integration in TV shows where dialogue, scenes and episodes are written around a branded product. They say that the lack of regulation has been exploited by marketers.
Nielsen reports a 13% growth in the number of product placement occurrences in prime-time broadcast network TV in 2007, with the top 10 shows having 25,950 placements. Cable programming, meanwhile, had 163,737 occurrences in the top ten shows. "American Idol" had 4,151 product placements in its first 38 episodes this year. Branded content on the show rose 19% to a total of 545 minutes, or 14 minutes per episode on average.
Three advertising industry trade groups urged the FCC to downgrade the NPRM to a Notice of Inquiry (NOI), an investigative procedure that cannot lead to rulemaking.
Josh Golin, associate director for the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC), says that product placement and integration is " 'happening more frequently. It's not that a character is picking up a Coca-Cola, but it's becoming a major plot point.' "
Source: Media Post, 06/23/2008
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