Nov 29, 2010

Tech Product Placement & Embedded Advertising: Cisco Telepresence, Surface, Kinect, Windows 7 Phone, Apple, Apple iAd - Videos, Links - plus legal & ethical concerns

I was watching a DVR'd episode of NCIS tonight with my husband and noticed Cisco Telepresence video conferencing system was a player in the story line,  as well as a Cisco Cius touch-screen tablet.   It seems that on TV, laptops, desktops, and old-fashioned cell phones are history.    "Emerging" technologies are woven into the story lines of more television episodes,  including CSI, NCIS, Bones, Grey's Anatomy, and others.

The original intention of this post was to discuss the concept of emerging technologies and product placement/embedded advertising on television programs and movies, and share a few interesting examples related to his topic.  I quickly realized that there is much more to this story. Why?  More people access video and interactive multimedia content when they are on-the-go using laptops, smart phones, iPads, and similar tablets.   New televisions, such as Sony Internet TV, are internet-enabled, and many people already access the web content on their televisions through devices such as game consoles or Apple TV.

It is a marketer's dream. 

Unfortunately, we might not be ways to "opt-out" of all of the indirect (and direct) advertising that will come our way as we access video and related content across multiple platforms.   It won't be as easy as blocking pop-up ads or fast-forwarding the DVR!  

Below are some examples of ways some emerging technologies are "placed" in television/film, grouped by company.  In the "Apple" section, I've included video of Steve Jobs introducing iAds. Near the end of this post, I've included links that relate to ethical legal and ethical issues regarding product placement and embedded advertising.   

Food for thought.   I'm still digesting what I've found!

Cisco
The following links about CISCO's product placement are from CISCO on TV and in the Movies:
Cisco TelePresence and Video Phone on NCIS (links to video clips)
Cisco TelePresence Conferencing on 30 Rock
Cisco Telepresence on CSI: NY


MICROSOFT 
Microsoft Surface on Grey's Anatomy


Kinect on Chuck


Kinect on Entourage


Kinect is a New Advertising Platform for Microsoft
David Erickson, e-StrategyBlog 11/22/10

WINDOWS 7 PHONE
Windows 7 Phone Product Placement on Bones


APPLE
iPad Gets Half Hour of Product Placement on Modern Family



Apple iAD Mobile advertising that delivers interaction and emotion, 1 billion ad impressions a day, within your app. Apple's iAD isn't really product placement. It is about embedded ads in your mobile devices.
"Who wants to get yanked out of their ad?"-Steve Jobs




"iAd is a breakthrough mobile advertising platform from Apple. With it, apps can feature rich media ads that combine the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web. For developers, it means a new, easy-to-implement source of revenue. For advertisers, it creates a new media outlet that offers consumers highly targeted information." -Apple


iAd for Brands       iAd for Developers

HP TouchSmart
Annalyn Censky, CNN Money, 5/28/10
New Black Eyed Peas Video...or is it an AD for HP?
Duncan Riley, The Inquisitr, 4/19/10

RELATED

Ben Shaw, BBH, 7/16/10

Engaget's ScreenGrabs Posts
BrandCameo-Films  
Brand Cameo-Brands
On this website, you can search for product placement by brand, by film, and by year.
3D Technology: The End of Product Placement As We Know It?
Dan Nosowitz, Fast Company 3/5/10
Discusses the technical difficulties of embedding products in 3D movies.


Legal and Ethical Issues
As I searched for more information about product placement and embedded advertising, I came across a few posts/websites that suggests that in some circles, this is a hot/controversial topic:

Paul A. Cicelski, Common Law Center 9/2/10
Protection of Children Prompts FCC Regulation of Internet and Wireless Video PRogramming and Enhanced State Privacy Rules
Daide Oxenford, Broadcast Laww Blog, 8/26/09
Joseph Lewczak and Ann DiGiovanni, WLF Legal Backgrounder, 4/9/10
FIT Media FAQs (FIT= Fairness and Integrity in Telecommunications Media)
"FIT Media is a non-partisan coalition of health, media and child advocacy organizations and professionals supporting transparency and child protection in embedded TV advertising."
This is an interesting website - FIT Media covers topics such as "Advernews", "Embedded Propoganda", "Deceptive Advertising", and ways that embedded advertising might be harmful.  
Week ahead:  FCC meeting, Do Not Track hearing
Cecilia Kang, Washington Post 11/29/10
Giselle Tsirulnik, Mobile Marketer, 7/22/10
What is Apple's New Privacy Policy? "Amidst all the glitz of releasing a new mobile operating system and iPhone, Apple quietly updated their privacy policy. Why?"
Michael Kassner, Tech Republic, 6/28/10
FYI: If you have an iPhone running iOS 4 and wish to opt-out of iAD, you can do so at http://oo.apple.com

COMMENT
Xerox's new technology enables the alteration of content within a video or television program, based on specific information about the viewer/user:

Xerox Brings Behavioral Targeting To Television  (Interesting use of technology)
Go Rumors, 1/13/10
Xerox Patent Filing Make Product Placement Addressable
The Media Buyer, 1/12/10
"The patent describes the system (via GoRumors) as having the ability to alter content within a program based on the viewer. For example, if a character on a show mentions Macy’s, that content could be shown to general viewers. But that small portion of the broadcast could be “marked,” and the content could be changed so that the character instead says the name of sporting goods store Modell’s. That portion of the broadcast would be served to viewers who are into sports. Similarly, if the storefront was shown during the program, general audiences would see the Macy’s store, while sports fans would see the Modell’s store."

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