Re: I hate product placement...
Product placement done right, or at least not offensively, can be quite good (and effective) - as I recall, Burn Notice had a bit of a thing for the Hyundai Genesis coupe thing (US market V8 coupe thingy - think of it as the UK market Hyundai Coupes bigger, louder brother) where they explained why having a good wodge of torque and rear wheel drive were useful in evasive driving.
It was obvious product placement, but in context it wasn't out of place/clunky as the actual information can apply to any pokey RWD car.
I suppose the litmus test is, would that line have been out of place had it been any other car and not the sponsored one, and does it break the suspension of disbelief etc?
No, not really - it'd still work if it was a tuned early 90s Mustang or a used ex-police Crown Vic they were talking about. That said, it made me take notice of the Genesis, and I've since learned it's apparently not a bad wee motor at all - so the product placement did it's job, and didn't make me want to stab the telly.
That's about the last time I saw product placement and didn't think 'gah' though.
Steven R
Biting the hand that feeds IT
