Originally published February 16 2006
Stealth advertising becoming an issue in the writing of TV shows
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Writer's Guild of America, as well as the Screen Actors Guild, have voiced concern about the recent demands of TV writers, who, searching for a boost in pay, have asked for more money to plug products into their shows.
TV networks are turning to product placements to fight back against ad-skipping technologies like TiVo, but now some writers are putting up a fight, demanding more pay in exchange for scripting product plugs into their shows.
The issue sparked open protest last month, with both the Writer's Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild calling for a "code of conduct" to govern the use of stealth advertising.
The complaints may seem like crocodile tears coming from TV writers.
In a recent episode of the NBC series Medium, writers had to work the movie Memoirs of a Geisha into the dialogue three times because of a deal the network made with Sony earlier in the season.
They even had the characters go on a date to an early screening of the movie and bump into friends who had just viewed Geisha to tell them how good it was.
Another product placement intruded a touching scene on ABC's soap opera, All My Children, when writers were forced to incorporate a line about a new Wal-Mart perfume into the dialogue as a character, Greenlee, sat at the bedside of her husband who was suffering from a fatal gunshot wound.
Some writers are so angered by the process of appeasing advertisers they have begun to strike back with a website called Productinvasion.com that pokes fun at embedded products.
"We wanted to bring our message to the same demographic that the broadcasters are aiming at with their advertisements," said Heather Szerlag, a researcher for the WGA, who said there is much more planned for the site.
The WGA protest, aimed at Hollywood producers, could cause an even bigger inconvenience than interrupted meetings.
The FCC, which requires all broadcasters to disclose their sponsors, could be brought in to do a federal investigation on TV product placements.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml