International Television - Product Placement Essay

International Television - Product Placement - Essay Example There is an ongoing debate across the world on the pros and cons of product placement. This essay presents some of the salient points in this debate. The concept of product placement is nothing new in the world of advertising. Nevertheless, its magnitude and pervasiveness had grown exponentially in the last 20 years. Members of the Entertainment Resources and Marketing Association form the core marketing personnel of the placement-industry. The Association also acts as the mouth-piece for the placement-industry. The mission statement of the Association contains the phrase â€Å"to highlight the practice and establish a code of ethics†. The association is doing an excellent job in highlighting the practice. But, this essay is primarily concerned with the â€Å"establish a code of ethics† part. Started in 1991, ERMA has had 16 years to design a framework of ethics. Conventional wisdom instructs us that high profits and elevated ethics don’t go together. Given the i mpressive profits made by the public relations industry, the implication is that ethics have been neglected. The rest of this essay will look at the evolution of legislations and industry standards pertaining to product placement, by analyzing and contextualizing government regulations and industry sentiments. Also, the United States is taken as the subject country of investigation as the length of the essay only allows limited scope.