Shine a Light on Sneaky TV Product Placement

We need laws, not suggestions, argues Mark Bittman

(NEWSER) - The FTC’s new guidelines against marketing junk food to kids don’t go nearly far enough for Mark Bittman. “Instead of announcing, ‘We have guidelines you must follow,” the New York Times writer complains, “the FTC said, in effect, ‘We have voluntary guidelines we hope you’ll follow—they’re voluntary, you understand—and in five years we’d like you to voluntarily comply with these voluntary guidelines.’” More»

FTC trying to end marketing of junk food to kids

(NEWSER) - The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a new set of food advertising guidelines that could leave Ronald McDonald hanging out with Joe Camel in the unemployment line. The new guidelines aim to stop companies from marketing products that are high in sugar, fat, or salt to children, forbidding everything from cartoon pitchmen to online games, the New York Times reports. More»

Morgan Spurlock helms documentary on advertising

(NEWSER) - Morgan Spurlock, the guy behind Super Size Me, calls his latest documentary—an exploration of our ad-obsessed culture—The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. And critics seem to agree:

• Spurlock “has this habit of making documentaries that come hidden in the Trojan horse of silly and then stab at your conscience,” writes Peter Travers in Rolling Stone . “As ever, he makes you laugh till it hurts.”

And there are probably a lot more to come

(NEWSER) - Iron Man 2—with its “$100 million marketing bonanza” featuring tie-ins and cross-promotions with Burger King, Dr. Pepper, Audi, 7-Eleven, and more—proves that “selling out has officially become the way to get movies made,” writes Jo Piazza on PopEater . With that in mind, the 10 most blatant examples of product placement in film:

1. Transformers: Bumblebee the Autobot is also a 2009 Camaro—and General Motors paid $3 million for the honor.
2. You’ve Got Mail: Even the title is a shout-out to AOL. The movie’s theme? “If you don't use AIM, you will indeed die alone...just like you've always feared.”

Fox programs account for half of all gripes

(NEWSER) - Fox's Family Guy is keeping the Federal Communications Commission busier than any other program on TV, according to records released under the Freedom of Information Act. A single episode of the show in March 2009 with a plot line involving horse semen triggered nearly 200,000 complaints to the section of the agency that handles indecency complaints. More»