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Rogue Ads
When did commercials become part of TV's stories?
Last season on Heroes, my favorite show, one of the characters received a Nissan Rogue for her birthday. She really liked her Nissan Rogue.
Then her Nissan Rogue was stolen. And her father was very upset that she didn't take better care of her Nissan Rogue. This subplot, which had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the show, was about as exciting as watching paint dry. On a Nissan Rogue.
In fact, the theft of the Nissan Rogue wasn't really a subplot at all – it was an ad in disguise. Nissan paid to get its Nissan Rogue in the show. Nissan might call this product placement or "embedded advertising." I call it a huge bore. If I wanted to find out more about the Nissan Rogue, I could go to a website about the Nissan Rogue.
Now the government is looking into regulating these "stealth ads," and it's about time. At a time when television viewers are both more able and more likely to fast-forward through traditional commercials, product placement isn't a bad business model. But viewers need to know the difference between shows that are trying to entertain them with stories about the Nissan Rogue and shows that are trying to sell them on the benefits of the Nissan Rogue.
One has to wonder whether anyone old enough to drive a Nissan Rogue is naïve enough to believe that a character on Heroes drives a Nissan Rogue because it makes sense for her to drive a Nissan Rogue rather than because the show's creators were paid to include a mention of the Nissan Rogue. But networks need to come clean, anyway.
Then her Nissan Rogue was stolen. And her father was very upset that she didn't take better care of her Nissan Rogue. This subplot, which had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the show, was about as exciting as watching paint dry. On a Nissan Rogue.
In fact, the theft of the Nissan Rogue wasn't really a subplot at all – it was an ad in disguise. Nissan paid to get its Nissan Rogue in the show. Nissan might call this product placement or "embedded advertising." I call it a huge bore. If I wanted to find out more about the Nissan Rogue, I could go to a website about the Nissan Rogue.
Now the government is looking into regulating these "stealth ads," and it's about time. At a time when television viewers are both more able and more likely to fast-forward through traditional commercials, product placement isn't a bad business model. But viewers need to know the difference between shows that are trying to entertain them with stories about the Nissan Rogue and shows that are trying to sell them on the benefits of the Nissan Rogue.
One has to wonder whether anyone old enough to drive a Nissan Rogue is naïve enough to believe that a character on Heroes drives a Nissan Rogue because it makes sense for her to drive a Nissan Rogue rather than because the show's creators were paid to include a mention of the Nissan Rogue. But networks need to come clean, anyway.
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