When ads are the TV stars

In television's not-too-distant past, the sight of Jerry Seinfeld holding a bottle of Snapple was a surprising development.

That practice, known as "product-placement" advertising, is a thriving industry verging on $1 billion a year. It no longer surprises us. What raises eyebrows these days is the even more invasive trend called "branded entertainment" or "integrated" advertising, in which brands are not mere props within camera range but stars and plot motivators in today's popular entertainment.

In this configuration, the products are part of the concept from the creation.

Frank Zazza, chief executive of iTVX, a company that measures the value of product placement, predicts the practice will become a billion-dollar industry within the next year. The biggest product placement shows are "The Apprentice," "Survivor," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and Fox's "American Idol," but even animators are drawn to the trend: Comedy Central's adult cartoon, "Shorties Watchin' Shorties," has sketched in Domino's Pizza, Red Bull energy drink and Vans sneakers.

Read the article: www.denverpost.com