Given that the country is teetering on the brink of the worst recession for more than a decade, the decision of culture secretary, Andy Burnham, to rule-out product placement on TV is at best bizarre and at worst crass.
The media sector faces unprecedented threats to its revenue streams as advertisers pare back spend so surely instead of putting them in some sort of straight-jacket, they should be encouraged to develop additional money through innovation.
Burnham seems to think that if the UK did adopt the practice, which is still the subject of an EC consultation, marketing directors would have an undue influence on editorial integrity. Rubbish. This would be in no-ones interest and, in fact, without brand references, programming looks even phonier.
