product placement as payola

increasingly worried about being ignored/skipped, advertisers increasingly choose product placement within tv shows to reach potential consumers. examples include coke in american idol, cisco in 24, various mark burnett reality shows like contender, apprentice and survivor (which actually prompted a legal spat).

i don't have a problem with it, as long as it is not intrusive to the content of the show. however, more troubling to advertisers and media companies is that an fcc member has a problem on the lack of disclosure.

¶ - nitish @ 12:14 PM