TV Product Placementpalooza

As television grows more user specific, we head away from the “free TV” paid by advertisement format into a new age of pay per view television. What do you think is the best option for entertainment companies? It seems everyone lately is trying to get in on the band-wagon. Should we pay for our TV and how? Currently I pay for my TV in many different ways.

1) I pay by having to watch those annoying ads (sometimes with loud sounds) that pop up and cover ½ of the viewing screen during a show that I’m watching. These ads are by far the most annoying to me, and if anything, make me avoid whatever is being advertised.

2) I pay for my satellite service. This payment goes directly to DishNetwork, then indirectly to the networks that charge them and secretly to the directors and actors, and ultimately to the government who taxes the life out of everything with less than 20 legs.

3) I pay for the convenience of fast forwarding through my commercials, which I’m sure somehow makes it to the networks, and back to the government again.

4) I pay by watching ads. Yes, if the timing is right between my clicks of the 30 second skip button, if a smart advertiser puts an interesting image up, I might just stop and watch a commercial.

5) I pay when I watch TV online by watching a long commercial at the beginning.

6) I pay by seeing product placements in TV shows

7) I now have the option of paying per episode on my Playstation 3 for some stuff.

Now I ask, since we want our TV to be somewhat subsidized by advertisements, what do you think the best way to do so is?

My opinion, I don’t think we should pay-per episode, that’s just dumb.

I think that splashing an unwanted ad during the middle of a show (which sometimes obstructs from an important plot device) is one of the worst and most annoying ideas.

So what do I like?.............Shameless product placement. That’s right folks, I want the people I watch on TV to be like normal people and have opinions about what type of soda and candy they like and what kind of shoes they like to wear. I want Rocky Balboa to look at the camera and say, “look at these beautiful pearly whites that I get when I use Crest.” But even more than that, I’d like to see companies like Coke pay to have someone spit out some Pepsi and say “Yuck, this stuff tastes disgusting.”

That’s it! I’m going to become a TV executive now. See you all on TV.