Those of you who watched I-Robot in 2004 will agree that viewers are subjected to a considerable amount of product placement.  When Will Smith wasn’t parading around in his ‘converse vintage 2004’ footwear he was racing around in a custom-made Audi.  That is, of course, when he wasn’t at home listening to music on his Sony CD player.  Despite these exploits, branded entertainment in the UK was prohibited by Ofcom.  This prohibition was based on EU legislation; however amendments to these laws have paved the way for product references and trademarks to be used on British television in exchange for money.

I-Robot 2004

The new rules, which are due to be incorporated into UK law at the end of 2010,will allow product placement in TV series, films, entertainment and sports programmes, but not in children’s and news programmes. So to reassure those of you who are concerned – Bob the Builder will not be fixing things with a Black & Decker multi-purpose saw. What we might expect to see however, is a Carlsberg tap at the Rovers Return or even Clear Blue pregnancy tests on Jeremy Kyle.  This will provide a new channel for advertising so maybe now it’s time to think inside of the box (for a change).