Nowadays, the freedom and variety offered by technology have given consumers more control over what they choose to view and when to view it. As such, this limits the reach of commercial advertising, prompting marketers to resort to other methods of reaching their target audience. One tactic commonly used by brands and marketers is product placement, also known as embedded marketing, a marketing tactic used by companies that serve to integrate their brands or products into a non-advertising production to help gain recognition for their brands.
The TVB sitcom: Lo and Behold many attempts of product placement throughout the show
Image retrieved from am730.com.hk
The immediate benefit to this strategy is that audio and visual cues integrated into the media productions means that consumers are unable to divert from viewing the advertisement when the product is an integrated part of the show, forcing consumers to become directly subjected to the integrated advertisement. Contrariwise, this means that consumers often become easily annoyed by product placements, in some cases, becoming more sensitive to product placement because of the possibly of it appearing in the media they view.
Characters of the sitcom using the services of the "newly opened" Green Community recycling centre
Image retrieved from the source
This problem is one illustrated in the Hong Kong TVB sitcom; Come Home Love: Lo and Behold. As one of TVB’s longest running and most popular sitcoms, the show has amassed the sponsorship of many brands to feature their products as part of their production. A recent episode featured a collaboration with the Environmental Protection Department on its “green community” recycling project, as the main characters, while discussing their tactics to outwit their bosses on a crazy one-minute sale, sent its youngsters downstairs to recycle their used items at the newly opened recycling plant. Upon airing, viewer reactions to the episodes were mixed- From praising the show’s ingenuity to introduce important social facilities to the public through such a direct method, to criticism over the product placement’s misalignment with the plot. That said, the episode had ultimately achieved its purpose, as viewer interest over the topic has sparked conversations following its release.
The latest Lo and Behold episode sparked numerous reviews of distaste from netizens
Image retrieved from the SkyPost
Riding on the success of their previous episode, two months later, the television sitcom released another episode centred on promoting social messages from the government, from parodies encouraging citizens to take the COVID vaccine, to characters overtly praising the newly improved government-run ID collection point. Unlike previous forms of product placement in this sitcom which appeared discreetly and unobtrusive to the storyline, netizens were unimpressed with how the sitcom have so blatantly decided to ruin their storyline by inserting the numerous ads, calling it distasteful and rallying others to boycott the show.
Comments from netizens
Image retrieved from the SkyPost
The difficulty of perfecting this balance is multiplied for product placements advocating social issues, because of the sheer complexity of discreetly presenting the issue whilst ensuring its key message aligns with the content of the media. Given that consumers are becoming more sensitive to the presence of product placement in social media, they are more likely to distrust the messages conveyed in product placement upon realisation of endorsement.
This demonstrates that it is imperative that marketers are able to find the thin balance between effectively conveying the brand’s message whilst simultaneously not appearing too obtrusive to the production’s original purpose.
References:
[1] “Lo and Behold episode 1110”, extracted from https://www.mytvsuper.com/en/home/cp_highlightscp/loandbehold_110561/590281?entry=seo
[2] “Lo and Behold episode 1171”, extracted from https://www.mytvsuper.com/en/home/cp_highlightscp/loandbehold_110561/603674?entry=seo
[3] “《愛回家》劇情狂插入政府資訊觀眾吃不消 連林秀怡客串角色都叫「易苗」”, extracted from https://skypost.ulifestyle.com.hk/article/2895954/%E3%80%8A%E6%84%9B%E5%9B%9E%E5%AE%B6%E3%80%8B%E5%8A%87%E6%83%85%E7%8B%82%E6%8F%92%E5%85%A5%E6%94%BF%E5%BA%9C%E8%B3%87%E8%A8%8A%E8%A7%80%E7%9C%BE%E5%90%83%E4%B8%8D%E6%B6%88%20%E9%80%A3%E6%9E%97%E7%A7%80%E6%80%A1%E5%AE%A2%E4%B8%B2%E8%A7%92%E8%89%B2%E9%83%BD%E5%8F%AB%E3%80%8C%E6%98%93%E8%8B%97%E3%80%8D
[4] “親子王國: 今晚愛回家問題：請問講環保回收係乜名？”, extracted from https://www.baby-kingdom.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=23414796&extra=page%3D1
[5] “Product Placement: Some Benefits and Weaknesses”, extracted from https://ybeat.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/product-placement-some-benefits-and-weaknesses/
[6] “GREEN @ COMMUNITY”, extracted from https://www.wastereduction.gov.hk/en/community/crn_intro.htm
[7] “When Product Placement Goes Wrong”, extracted from https://daily.jstor.org/when-product-placement-goes-wrong/
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