Product Placement Attracts Regulators' Attention [1]
Submitted by Diane Farsetta [2] on
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission [3] (FCC) "is expected to open a formal proceeding about new rules requiring more disclosure of product placement [4]." The "in-show advertising" practice is popular with marketers trying to "reach consumers who skip commercials." Product placement spending "increased 33.7% to $2.90 billion in 2007 from a year earlier," with "The Biggest Loser [5]," "American Idol" and "The Apprentice" having the most product placements on network television. To improve disclosure, the FCC will consider requiring "notices similar to what political candidates must say before or after campaign ads." The agency will also "examine whether embedded advertisements violate FCC rules on children's programming, which require a few-second break in between the show and an ad. Commissioners will look at whether new product-placement rules need to be extended to cover cable programmers, which are currently exempt." Five years ago, Commercial Alert [6] urged the FCC to require that product placements be "identified when they occur," instead of at the end of a show. The FCC didn't include that proposal in its new rule-making proceeding.