Thursday, July 03, 2008

Guild concerns over product placement

In The Stage, Matthew Hemley reports on the Writers' Guild's concerns about product placement on TV.
...the guild has outlined its concerns to [Culture Secretary, Andy] Burnham...and has suggested that placement could lead to a writer having less control over a show’s story.

“Will sponsors and advertisers purchase the right to have a product, such as a soft drink or brand of clothing, featured in a scripted show?

“Or will they purchase a right to exercise editorial control over the humorous or dramatic content of the show? We would caution against any changes that fundamentally change the editorial decision-making process,” it said.

Writers’ Guild deputy general secretary Anne Hogben added that a “worst case scenario” could see a writer told that a character had to drink a certain product or drive a certain car and said: “It could mean a writer had to act as a free copywriter for advertisers.”

1 comment:

  1. FROM THE CHAIR OF THE TV COMMITTEE

    I want to thank the staff and TV Comm who contributed to the Guild's submission on product placement. But our gold star must be given to Edel Brosnan, our Editorial Chair and staunch TV Comm member, who wrote the brilliant paper which swayed Culture Secretary, Andy Burnham. We all owe Edel a vote of thanks... and/ or a drink!

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