Media regulator Ofcom confirmed yesterday that product placement in UK TV programmes – forecast to be worth £150m - is to be allowed from February 2011.
Paid-for references to brands will be allowed to feature in broadcasts including soaps, films and entertainment shows from 28th February 2011.
Product placement in children’s programmes, news broadcasts, all UK
Under the new legislation alcohol, tobacco, baby milk, weapons, medicines, gambling brands, escort agencies and food and drink deemed high in salt, fat or sugar will be banned from product placement.
According to Ofcom’s rules product placement “cannot be created or distorted so that they become vehicles for the purposes of featuring product placement", must be editorially justified and cannot impair broadcasters’ editorial independence.
A ten month-long public consultation was held ahead of the changes to Ofcom’s code.
Ofcom’s rules stipulate that product placement must be made clear to viewers, with a new product placement logo appearing for a minimum of three seconds at the beginning and end of programmes and following advertising breaks. An audience awareness campaign overseen by Ofcom is to be launched in the New Year on commercial TV stations intending on broadcasting programmes with product placement. The campaign will comprise of short information broadcasts during advert breaks in popular programmes.
Product placement has been a part of American broadcasting for some time now, with many high-profile programmes such as American Idol and Sex and the City adopting the advertising technique, which accounts for 5% of total TV advertising revenue, according to product placement company MirriAd.
In light of the new rules, Ofcom has relaxed its TV sponsorship regulations and paid-for references to brands (radio only), allowing brand logos to appear during credits and using product placement in programmes they are sponsoring.
No comments:
Post a Comment