TV shows are using product placements far more blatantly than in the past. There is nothing subtle about how products are shilled anymore. In the good old days, a hardened street gumshoe would relax in his seedy office after a hard day of pluggin' bad guys and pour himself a straight-up shot of CC. You may not get to see the label clearly, but you knew what it was.
But, not anymore...
Current TV shows like Hawaii 5-0, NCIS, The Mentalist, et al. are placing items or mentioning services in their storylines. They pay the bills, I realize, but they really make me squirm! The placements are so up front and in your face Krusty the Klown would be proud.
- Ford Explorer: During a car chase... the action goes into slow motion so we can read the vehicle name on the tail as it spins by the lens. Viola! A cheap product commercial!
- Microsoft: At a crime scene, out comes the smartphone camera with the statement, "I'll SkyDrive it to you". Who out there uses SkyDrive? Or willingly continues to? I tried it, even on my iPhone, and found it clunky and slow. Just take a photo as you usually would and either email or send it by text message. A LOT faster!
- Cross-Show Promos: On The Mentalist, Patrick Jane says, "He's 5-0, ya know?" when describing his partner from CBI to a member of the public.
- Microsoft (again): This is the worst.... "I'll BING it for you". Now this is just plain fantasy. Nobody ... and I mean NOBODY would be caught dead saying this is real life. Google is the default and this ain't changing anytime soon. Say "I'll Google it for you" and you'll receive a knowing nod. Say BING instead, and you'll get a look that says "What's wrong with you?"
