Hollywood Unions Object to Product Placement on TV

[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Sharon Waxman]
A group of show business unions are denouncing the creeping practice of "stealth advertising," the integration of commercial products into the story lines of television shows, which they say deceives audiences and forces writers and actors to do jobs they were not hired for. The Writers Guild of America, West, and the Writers Guild of America, East, with the support of the Screen Actors Guild, will hold a news conference today calling for a code of conduct to govern this latest twist in the world of advertising, in which product placement has become increasingly central to plotlines. Reality shows like "The Apprentice," soap operas like "All My Children" and even prime-time scripted hits like "Desperate Housewives" have all adopted the practice of writing products into the shows as a way of attracting ad dollars that have faltered in the age of TiVo and hundreds of cable choices. The unions are calling for clearer disclosure to viewers when products are integrated into a show's story line, and for greater say in the practice by actors and writers. "Failing that," warned the writers' memorandum, "we will seek additional FCC regulation." Gary Ruskin, who runs the consumer advocacy nonprofit group Commercial Alert, said the networks were already in violation of existing Federal Communications Committee regulations regarding sponsorship disclosure, and that more rules were needed. "Product placement is dishonest advertising," he said. "It's stealth advertising," adding that his group had already petitioned the commission to require greater disclosure. "Sponsorship identification has been required since the outset of television advertising, but it hasn't been designed to handle sophisticated product integration such as this," he said. "The rules need to be updated."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/14/business/14guild.html?pagewanted=all
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