The Persuaders

I had noticed over the past couple of years that the product placement in TV shows had become more obvious and the frequency had increased. What I didn't know was the reason behind it. After watching the Persuaders it makes perfect sense. I had thought it was just the actors selling out like Bob Harper on the biggest loser. He went from being a personal trainer to a spokesman for sugar free gum and nalgene bottles. The show went from an inspirational reality show to a two hour infomercial. It was very disappointing to find that it was a direct result of my actions. I am guilty of recording all shows and fast forwarding through the commercials. I almost never watch live TV any more. With Comcast On Demand there is virtually no need to watch a show when it is being broadcast. It is interesting to note however that Comcast has found a way around the consumers impulse to fast-forward through commercials during on-demand programming. At least with my box the On-Demand programming is not as responsive to the control commands and will not jump forward or back to the intended stopping point. Because of the way it is programmed you are forced to watch at least a portion of the commercial or miss part of the show you are trying to get to. Very frustrating, but now I understand why they do it. They ensure that the product is seen, sometimes 3 times if you are persistant like me and try to get it to stop at the right place. I hate commercials, but frankly I would much rather have commercials that can not be skipped than have them take over the show.

Don't get me wrong, product placement is ok when it is done well. It has become a game in my house to identify what type of cars NCIS or CSI's drive. If you watch closely you will see that in certain episodes every vehicle you see them drive is a single brand. In the next episode they mysteriously have new cars. Sneaky product placement but it is smart because it peaks my interest and now they have me looking for it specifically. This is a brilliant tactic because it doesn't annoy the viewers.