UK Advertisers Cool on Product Placement

Plans to allow product placement in British television programmes have sparked opposition not only from doctors and religious leaders but even from advertisers themselves. Isba, the association representing British advertisers, said on Monday that paid-for inclusion of branded items in shows such as Coronation Street or The X Factor could lead to the "double disadvantage of higher costs for advertisers and more complaints from the viewing public." Many advertisers prefer the current system of "prop placement", whereby agencies arrange for branded goods to be included in shows without having to pay the broadcaster or producer.