Extreme makeover: a product placement dream

ABC's Extreme Makeover sucked me in for two or three episodes. The drama of down and out or otherwise victimized families getting a real house to live in makes for good story telling. But beyond that, it's probably the best example of appropriate product placement on the air today.

Product placement will reach about $4.25 billion this year, according to PQ Media. That's a 23% surge from a year earlier. As more and more consumers, like me, skip more and and more ads via a DVR, the 30-second commercial is going the way of the nightly network newscast.

Many product placement deals are obnoxious and ham-fisted. The Apprentice comes to mind. Extreme Makeover has several sponsors with prominent placement deals: Sears, Ford and Pella Windows to name three. Seeing the designers go off to Sears every episode and deck out the house with Kenmore appliances, is not just a sponsorship, it's integral to the subject family getting their lives back. The best looking Sears products are featured, so the whole deal is far better than any 30-second ad the department store's ad agencies have created in 20 years. Pella windows, likewise, is nicely showcased in the show without being obnoxious about it. And, of course, Ford, is the one providing vehicles to the family. What's a new garage without new sheetmetal in it?

Read the article: www.businessweek.com