Reality in Reality TV

MTV's "The Real World" is a reality television show that tells the "real" story of seven strangers picked to live in a house together. The show is a natural vehicle for product placement. This season, the housemates live in Denver, Colorado. There are a variety of products that are shown that match with the typical Denver lifestyle. One of the largest product placements in at the kids' job. They work for Outward Bound. http://www.outwardbound.org/index.php This is a non-profit company that brings kids into the wilderness for personal growth and leadership skills. I had personally heard of it because many of my friends went on these adventures. Footage shows the beauty of Colorado and the many activities that people can do. The show itself could be mistaken for a long advertisement for visiting Colorado! Before their first training session, the kids went to Dick's Sporting Goods to find everything they needed. (They made sure to mention the store's name). http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/home/index.jsp . Again, Dick's went along with Colorado's national and outdoorsy feel. Another large product placement is Wild Oats. http://www.wildoats.com/u/home/ . This is a natural grocery store around the US. The grocery store features many trail mixes and healthy snacks that are great for the outdoors. Finally, the fourth major placement is from Jeep. http://www.jeep.com/ The new Patriot was launched this year and having twenty-somethings in the outdoors was a perfect placement. Viewers could think, "Wow, that vehicle seems to work perfectly for long drives and holds a lot! Plus the Real Worlders look so cool driving it!" The product placement is better than any other commercial. It is also reinforced to the viewers that the car is, in fact, a Jeep Patriot.

Reality television is a great way to integrate product placement. If the show is supposed to be reality than people will think that these people actually use the product. "Survivor producer Mark Burnett described his show as being 'as much a marketing vehicle as it is a television show.'"http://www.brandhype.org/archives/2005/03/product_placeme.html . As Reality TV gains in popularity, audiences are catching on that it may not be so realistic afterall. Will this change views on product placement? Maybe or maybe not.

The Beauty in Ugly Betty

ABC's runaway hit this season is Ugly Betty. The show that recently won an Emmy, uses fashion in every aspect. The plot follows a simple girl from Queens who begins working a fictional fashion magazine called MODE. Although Betty doesn't wear designer clothes, the rest of the cast is dressed to the nines. Because it's a fashion magazine, designers are always mentioned. Glamorous parties are attended and jeans and a t-shirt would never do. The "closet" is a giant room filled with clothes used in the magazines. In one of the episodes they decided to clean out the closet for the next season. All of the employees sprinted there to be first on the list. They were sure to mention which pieces they got from which designers. Wilhelmina Slater (played by Vanessa Williams) is the creative director at MODE. She and Alexis Mead (Rebecca Romijn) compete for the spotlight and the glamour. They seem to want to always top the other.

There is also a portion on the website where you watch videos that describe the style of each character. http://abc.go.com/primetime/uglybetty/index.html Designer labels are also mentioned here. The show works because the product placement seems natural. At a fashion magazine, fashion is all around! Designers are the language and knowing new trends keeps you ahead of the game. The beauty in Ugly Betty is that the product placement is written into the script. Product placement in this setting seems natural and realistic which is what makes the show work so perfectly.

iPhone

Apple's newest product is called the iPhone. It combines a cellular phone, iPod, and internet connection into one. http://www.apple.com/iphone/hello/CherryFlava's blog talks about how an image of the iPhone appeared on a screen in New York City. The image appeared when the product was being launched and only appeared for a few seconds. Onlookers stared at the sudden image. It proved to be more effective than a longer advertisement that was played over and over again. This brief glimpse of the new technology created a buzz. In June when this product finally makes its debut, it will without a doubt be a product placement giant. Just like the iPod before it, the iPhone will surely be featured with every hot celebrity on all the coolest shows.

I also promoted my blog this week by posting comments on other blogs that I found interesting. I found a really interesting blog by a guy named Jeremy Pepper. He founded his own PR firm called POP! PR. http://pop-pr.blogspot.com/index.html I really enjoyed his blog because he wasn't TOO into the internet. He talked about how blogging may be fun, but experiencing life is more important. In a field such as public relations it is very important to build relationships and network. Knowing people is sometimes more important than writing about trends on your blog. I like this persepective. Blogging can be a useful tool, but it should not take the place of a real life.

Second Life Locations

Today in my Audience Research class our teacher had us visit a few location in Second Life. These locations varied. LeoBurnett is a professional company from the real world. Their SL island was interesting. It featured a large treehouse and lots of open space. I imagine that they hold conferences there and allow employees to chat with visitors. The treehouse was confusing. I wasn't sure of the purpose of it. There was also very little to do on the island.

Paper Couture is a company that started online. On their SL island you can go into their beautifully decorated store and buy clothing for your avatar. I enjoyed this location because I felt like I was in a store. There were mirrors and fireplaces to make it look attractive. You can also visit the company's website. I understood the purpose of this location and enjoyed looking around.

Kawaii Ku is a fan built island. When I was first teleported there I felt like I was in a cartoon world. There was a rainbow overhead and giant colorful flowers. Everything was oversized and it looked like an Asian cartoon. Each building had a different theme. They had pictures on the walls that looked like Asian trading cards. Some were animals while others were racy women. When you passed through a tunnel the island went from happy to slightly frightening. Part of the city was underwater and it looked dirty in general. There was more to do at this island and interesting things to look at. I'm not sure what the purpose of the island was, but I enjoyed being there.

If my company was to open in Second Life, I would tell them to design their island so that it represented their image. Paper Couture did this well. I understood exactly what the company was and the upscale image. I would also tell them to create many different things to do. If there is lots to do, people will like to spend their time there. The island should also be decorted well and feature employees to help visitors understand the company.

The Donald Loves Lexus?

Donald Trump's reality show, "Apprentice L.A.", is sponsored by Lexus. Contestants are driven in these luxury vehicles and many commercials are for the company. This match seems perfect. Lexus is a brand that embodies class and style. Donald Trump is one of the wealthiest men in the world and everything he touches seems to turn to gold. In an episode, Donald is shown driving a sporty car that is NOT a Lexus. The car he was driving appeared to be a Bentley. http://www.productplacement.biz/ So what happens when celebrity spokespeople don't use the product? The original product placement is weakened and consumers don't associate the product with the spokesperson. Last season on The Apprentice, Arby's was a big advertiser. Mr. Trump stated that he loved their sandwiches, but never actually ate one on air.

With companies including Dial, GNC, Home Depot, Priceline.com, and Ralphs, I wonder if "The Donald" will continue to use competitor's products on the show and in real life. If I was a company spending millions of dollars to be associated with Donald Trump, I would want him to actually use my products. The Apprentice's ratings are falling dramatically, but advertisers still want their products associated with the show. It seems like the show has gotten repetitive and viewers are bored. Will as many companies want in next year? Will the show even be around next year? If so, will Trump come out with a new reality show?

Extreme Makeover, Extreme Product Placement

As a interior design lover and overall sappy television enthusiast, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is one of my favorite shows. http://abc.go.com/primetime/xtremehome/Every week the show gives a deserving family a new home along with bonus gifts like cars, computers, and flat screen TVs. Episodes are filled with product placements and brands seem to rule the show. Kenmore and Sears supply much of the appliances and home accessories. Dishwashers are Kenmore dishwashers. Ford is also a major giver on the show. Most families get a new car (or two!) An appearance on the show gives companies a good image. They are helping out an American family and getting publicity while doing it. The show's host, Ty Pennington, also uses the show to promote his home collection.

The show's website has a section called "As Featured On...". This section allows viewers to view everything used in each episode and see contact information for each company. Many of the products are divided into the rooms that they were used in. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition gives the American public a chance to see dream homes and dream accessories. The budgets seem endless and the designs are overwhelming. The entire show is an advertisement, but better! The product placement is obvious. They aren't trying to hide that fact. When I'm watching the show the products look so innovative and fashionable. The show's designers make each room look picture perfect. I can't help but want what the show presents. As a consumer, I'm doing exactly what companies want me to do. Ford has a special in-house product placement group called Ford Brand Global Entertainment. This group specifically handles all product placement. http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=55315 With huge organizations controlling product placement, the plugs will only get bigger from here.