Digital Product Placement, the Ad Industry, & Kenney's Truth in Advertising

From Monday's BBC article "Digital product placement creates adverts out of thin air:"

[P]roduct placement isn't new...  Recently Heineken scored a coup by persuading James Bond to choose its beer over a vodka martini in Skyfall.

However, digital placement is fundamentally different in that the product you see on screen was never there in the first place. Editors can drop whatever they like, wherever they like, into programmes or films during the post-production process....

"These are not just logos, they can be video, signage and products, even cars," explains Mark Popkiewicz..."For example beverages are placed as open cans or bottles with glasses containing the beverage alongside - that way they look like they are being consumed... The technology is capable of placing or replacing moving objects and even replacing products being handled by actors like mobile phones... Early trials show almost double the engagements of traditional campaigns... This is because when a consumer watches a show they are not 'defensive' against advertising as they might be with advertising online or commercials on TV - they are in 'receive mode' and are not blocking."...

For a novel about the ad industry, try Truth in Advertising by John Kenney:

Finbar Dolan is lost and lonely. Except he doesn’t know it. Despite escaping his blue-collar Boston upbringing to carve out a mildly successful career at a Madison Avenue ad agency, he’s a bit of a mess and closing in on forty. He’s recently called off a wedding. Now, a few days before Christmas, he’s forced to cancel a long-postponed vacation in order to write, produce, and edit a Super Bowl commercial for his diaper account in record time.

Fortunately, it gets worse. Fin learns that his long-estranged and once-abusive father has fallen ill. And that neither of his brothers or his sister intend to visit. It’s a wake-up call for Fin to reevaluate the choices he’s made, admit that he’s falling for his coworker Phoebe, question the importance of diapers in his life, and finally tell the truth about his past.

Newspapers' Declining Ad Revenue & Hine's Russell Wiley Is Out to Lunch

I recently posted about reporters and the politics of editing and censorship. But what about the rest of the staff that keep newspapers going?

For some news about advertisers/publishers, I turn to last week's Forbes article "Newspaper Advertising In China Is Being Affected By New Media, Too:"

A switch to online content among newspaper readers in the U.S. has put pressure on the profits of publishers of traditional newspapers such as the New York Times. The same trend is affecting traditional newspaper publishers in Greater China, too. Hong Kong-traded shares of Beijing Media, which sells advertising for the popular China Youth Daily and other Beijing-based media, lost 6.5% today after the company said on Friday net profit last year plunged 46% to 65 million yuan, or $10.5 million.

For a novel about newspaper advertisers/publishers, try Russell Wiley Is Out to Lunch by Richard Hine:

Russell Wiley is in deep trouble. A media executive for the failing Daily Business Chronicle, his career is teetering on the brink of collapse, and his sexless marriage is fast approaching its expiration date. With his professional and personal lives floundering, it's no wonder Russell is distracted, unhappy, and losing faith in himself. Making matters worse are his scheming boss, a hotshot new consultant, and the beguiling colleague whose mere presence has a disconcerting effect on Russell's starved libido. Disaster seems imminent...and that's before he makes a careless mistake that could cost the paper millions. Russell realizes he must take drastic action if he is going to salvage his career, his love life, and what little remains of his self-respect. Sardonic, edgy, and true to life, this gripping novel from author Richard Hine offers an insider's view into a newspaper's inner sanctum.