I don't usually blog about TV shows. I watch so many that I could have written all twelve of my blog posts about the shows I watch. From product placement to sponsorship, you can't just watch TV shows like you used to; everywhere you look a well place advertisement is sneaking it's way into your vision.
While I was thinking about how Project Runway is brought you by HP and Intel and Top Chef is brought to you by GE Monogram Appliances I began to wonder what happened to reality TV. I remember growing up and watching the Real World black out every brand that came across the screen. What caused the shift in TV shows avoiding brand names and displaying them everywhere?
In 1989 the first film crossed the line by integrating a product into the plot line. I am of course talking about E.T's use of Reese's Pieces (Walton 71). After film came Sit-Coms, most famously, Seinfeld.
From Sit-Coms to sponsorship to product placement the evolution of where we see our "commercials" has certainly changed with the times. This is largely due in part to the decline of people sitting in front of a television and watching the full hour slot of a show. Programming used to get most of it's profits from selling commercial spots, but now brands will pump money out to been seen within the show. Whether a viewer is watching on Hulu, Demand, or Netflix the only way to fast forward through the new type of advertising is not to watch a show at all.
One more blog to go :D
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