Truth In TV Advertising: Show Viewers Your Product Placements and CPMs

TRUTH IN TV ADVERTISING: SHOW VIEWERS YOUR PRODUCT PLACEMENTS AND CPMs
[SOURCE: TVWatch, AUTHOR: Wayne Friedman]
[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission will rewrite disclosure rules for product placement on TV. What will be those rules? No one knows for sure. But consumer group pressure is hoping some message will be aired around why, say, the Starbucks store name is shown in a partial “CSI” shot. But the FCC should go deeper. Why not offer up a crawling, lower-screen message telling viewers the Audi spot you've just seen on “Desperate Housewives” goes for $240,000 for an “A” commercial pod position, and that an AT&T commercial in the “D” commercial pod position is priced at $170,000? You want disclosure? Then give some real disclosure. Explain to viewers what goes into the $50 million that Ford, AT&T, and Coca-Cola each spend on their “American Idol” sponsorship. It’s the public airwaves after all -- soon to be the public’s digital airwaves. It’s not surprising entertainment/TV executives are nervous when the public gets closer to seeing how they do business.
http://blogs.mediapost.com/tv_watch/?p=878