Oscar night is almost upon us and with it will come the
grandest display of opulent product placement the might of Hollywood can muster. And we
won't care, in fact we won't be able to get enough of it.
The blanket coverage of the world's biggest stars, plucked
and preened for their red carpet appearance, will not be a low key affair. It
will be brighter than the sun, with egos visible from space and bling to match.
And the one question each and every starlet will be asked as
they glide by equally dolled presenters and omnipresent TV cameras will not
have anything to do with the films for which they merit their appearance at the
Academy Awards. It will be the cringeworthy, Americanised,
not-even-a-proper-question, question, "Who are you wearing?" Shudder.
The leading designers in the fashion world will
be rubbing their perfectly manicured hands together as they receive the biggest
endorsement the modern age has to offer. The greatest products placed on some
the greatest, ahem, places, played out in front of untold millions watching
around the world.
Do we get upset at blatant commercialisation of The Oscars? Do we think the stars ‘just
threw something together'? No.
The British public would be gutted if it didn't play out
like giant fashion ad, knowing full well that scores of designers will have
been wooing the A-Listers for months, perhaps years - and likely with
more than the offer of a free ‘creation' for the night - just to get them to
don a particularly revealing backless feather number.
So why, when TV watchers from Oscar aficionados to film
buffs are able to understand that product placement happens within much of the
programming they consume, from news - yes news, just wait for the wall-to-wall
coverage of ‘that dress' - to sitcoms and movies, and not let it spoil their
viewing, are UK broadcasters unable to join in the fun?
Does the Secretary of State think he knows what the British
public are prepared to accept better than the producers of the Street or, more to the point, the British public? Does he
think producers would do anything to tarnish the valuable reputations of hit
shows for the sake of a misplaced pair of Nike trainers?
The global
product placement market was reportedly worth $3.36 billion in 2006 and was
forecast to grow 30.3% to $4.38 billion in 2007. Even bringing that down to
likely UK
levels, it's a pot of cash that would do more than a little to help
broadcasters struggling to make ends meet.
But tempting as it might be to "contaminate
programming", as Andy Burnham put it, there's too much at stake for creatives,
producers and advertisers for a show to fall foul of the public for over-egging
the product placement pudding. The remote control and multichannel TV make short shrift of anything even remotely annoying on the box.
So, do the industry a favour and let them try to make a bit
of cash, and maybe help improve their programming, by throwing a few cans of Coke
Frank Gallagher's way. We won't mind. In fact, (sorry brands), we probably
won't even notice.
