Virtual Product Placement: Digital Placement in TV Shows

Viewers of the April 25 episode of the CBS show “Yes, Dear” may have noticed a box of Club Crackers sitting on a living room coffee table, next to a plate of cheese. What they didn’t see was that the box didn’t really exist, at least not on the set.

The Club Crackers box was inserted into the scene through virtual product placement, a process that uses computer graphics and digital editing to put products like cheesy puffs, soda and shopping bags into television programs after they are taped.

As with traditional product placement, producers can sell screen time on their programs to advertisers eager to reach consumers who now have the ability to skip traditional commercials using fast-growing technologies like TiVo and DVR. According to PQ Media, a media research firm, product placement spending totaled $3.45 billion in 2004. Of that amount, $1.88 billion was spent on television, $1.25 billion on film, and $326 million on other media. (IHT)