I hate to admit it, but one of my favorite reality shows on TV is TLC’s Jon & Kate plus 8 (mostly because the kids are so dang cute). I have watched this show since it aired a few years back and it has evolved and changed as it has gained popularity. Recently, I have noticed more and more brands are latching on to the show’s success and strategically (and sometimes not so strategically) using product placements in the show to boost their own brand recognition. Sometimes the placements are seamless and go unnoticed (at least by the average audience member)…and sometimes it stands out like a sore thumb. Many people have blogged about their frustration lately.
In a recent episode, Jon and Kate got new washers for their new home. One of their conversations went something like this:
Kate: “I just love our new washer and dryer from Whirlpool! They look so beautiful sitting side-by-side in the laundry room.”
Jon: “Yeah…aren’t those the Duets?”
Kate: “They sure are, Jon! We had some in our old house and after that amazing experience, I knew the Whirlpool Duets were the ONLY washer and dryer I’d put in the new house!”
You can’t really blame Jon & Kate for accepting these offers—but it does seem to tarnish the authenticity of the show and even the “Jon & Kate” brand. I have to wonder, when it is so obvious that a brand has paid/donated to be participating on a show, if it actually detracts from the brand image rather than help it. And Whirlpool isn’t the only brand that’s fumbled when it comes to product placements. Allstate and Play-doh also made awkward appearances on the show.
Speaking of tarnishing the Jon & Kate brand, in the past few weeks there has been a lot of press around suspicions that Jon has been having an affair (superficial posted confirmation on their blog of the alleged affair). This leaves me wondering…what will these brands do that have so closely tied themselves with the Jon & Kate brand?
Now I’m not saying that product placements aren’t a smart idea. I just think they have to be done extremely well in order to pull them off. The success of brands in the future really lie in their ability to be authentic. People are able to see through the marketing crap and want to see real people interacting with the brand. But I think people can also see through a bad product placement.
There are good product placements out there. However they are usually hard to spot. When a product placement is done well, it shouldn’t be obvious. It should feel just normal. Brand Channel has a list of 2008 brand cameo product placement awards.
I will leave you with one last horrible product placement to ponder. This one was on the VH1 Best Week Ever blog.
I can’t believe you didn’t include the BEST example of product placement ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiLtZBnb7LA
SciFi Channel’s show Eureka has a placement deal with Degree deodorant (apparently a way to survive some budget issues). Degree played a big part in the mid-season finale for season 3. They managed to pull it off, I thought, but Eureka’s got a comedy edge to it that helped.
The product placement on Jon & Kate is just crazy and badly done, especially the State Farm plug (and from what I’ve read on blogs, State Farm denied any sponsorship of the show – any insights on that?). It may backfire on the other companies, with the recent and ongoing melodrama.
Yeah, I have noticed that since all of the drama on the show TLC has taken a different approach to sponsorships. I see fewer brands promoted– and instead a lot of cross promotion. Recently they visited Ace of Cakes for Kate’s Birthday, Emeril came and cooked the family dinner and the American Chopper crew is on the upcoming episode. Now instead of the show about a family’s life with 8 kids.. it’s a show about a family’s life in the reality spotlight.
I wonder how much more TLC can commercialize the family… it seems that things will eventually really start to backfire.