When is product placement not product placement?
Trainer Shannan Ponton pushes vitamins to Biggest Loser contestants but neglects to mention he is a product ambassador.
- Published by David Knox
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Q: When is product placement not product placement?
A: When it’s an endorsement.
In last night’s episode of The Biggest Loser trainer Shannan Ponton told two contestants about the wonders of Krill Oil, holding up a Nature’s Way product.
“I want you guys to take some Super Krill Oil. It’s fantastic for lubricating your joints. It’s going to ease the osteoarthritis and that sort of stuff, and it’s something I take everyday,” he said.
The product even scored its own close-up.
Nature’s Way is a sponsor of The Biggest Loser and both Shannan Ponton and Michelle Bridges are product ambassadors.
But at no point in the narrative was the moment clarified as an advertisement.
On their official Facebook page some viewers were questioning the moment:
-What was with the product placement tonight?! Krill Oil and Multivitamin Restore obviously sponsors the show!
-So now this show starts with the advertisements disguised as advice for contestants again…”yeah take this vitamin and it will lubricate your joints” (funny then how the contestant holds the vitamins with the label facing the camera). That was the most contrived performance since the yoghurt discussion last year…
-all the vitamins on the show is product integration….all TV stations do it where they can with locally produced content and advertisers pay alot of money to do so…..it’s just part of producing a program these days.
-so deluded its just one huge advertising campaign and about the money maybe I should learn to cry on cue also. So easily manipulated by television.
-It is just promotion considering he also advertises the same brand on commercial breaks
-they’re really pushing the vitamins this year – since they’re a sponsor I suppose.
– Last nights episode had me barfing at Shannon pushing vitamin supplements on Cher and her Mum. For c***sakes, we already have the TBL trainers flogging vitamins in the ad breaks, do they have to do it on the show as well?
-He was only doing it because he is paid to advertise those vitamins. If I was on there I wouldn’t believe that he really thinks those things work- because he gets paid to say they do.
While shows such as The Block and MasterChef have been high in product placement, the line is crossed when it becomes an outright endorsement.
A TEN spokesperson defended the episode today telling Reality Ravings website:
“Of course, Network TEN adheres strictly to the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice. The Code is co-regulated by industry and the government regulator and contains provisions regarding branded entertainment. The primary focus is on ensuring paid content in a program / segment is clearly distinguishable due to branding / labelling or because it is clearly promoting a product or service. Nothing in last night’s episode of The Biggest Loser: The Next Generation breached the Code.
“The commercial arrangement with Nature’s Way was disclosed in the program end credits and in sponsorship billboards accompanying the program. The end credits say The Biggest Loser is made with the support of and various company logos, including Nature’s Way.”
But the Commercial Television Industry Code Of Practice stipulates that while such endorsements must be made either during the program or in the credits they must also be “readily understandable to a reasonable person.”
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14 Responses
I really like this show but that segment in the episode stood out as a bit too gratuitous for my liking.
From Big Bang Theory with Penny looking at buying some multi-vitamins.
Sheldon: Well, there’s some value to taking a multi-vitamin but the human body can only absorb so much. What you’re buying here are the ingredients for very expensive urine.
It will take just one smart lawyer with an axe to grind to ask the question “But surely product placement, by definition, isn’t distinguishable from program material, it’s embedded in it?” for Ch10s defence to fail and the whole entire edifice of ACMA looking the other way from product placement/endorsement will come crashing down. This could potentially be the killer of a nice little cottage industry of Reality TV = product placement/endorsement.
What everybody in America, apart from Sheldon who is sponsored by Dell, doesn’t use an Apple computer?
Gum actually makes some sense. Chewing sugar free gum can stop people snacking. Krill Oil and vitamins have been shown to be of no value what so ever, as long as you don’t have an Omega 3 or vitamin deficiency.
I think it was a producer from MasterChef that said they’ve done their job well if people don’t notice the product placement. If it can be done smoothly within the context of the program it can be inoffensive to viewers while still getting the commercial integration across. (Though, MasterChef failed in this regard when trying to slip in credit card product placement in their overseas travel segments… that was very jarring)
Shows like The Block and The Biggest Loser could learn from MasterChef’s approach I think. Less is more, as the saying goes, don’t bash us over the head with commercial messages.
If the code of practice states it should be clear to a reasonable person, i think you would find most people don’t realise half the the time that there is product placement in a show. It stands out because Loser isn’t normally so blatant. However I do remember one series where they were pushing a brand of gum and I am not sure what that has to do with health
I saw that. It was a disgrace and far too blatant. Keep that up and kilos may not be all they are shedding.
I was watching this too and it made me change the channel.
It was such an obvious product placement. I wonder how many people actually bought the product. It still reminds me of the segment Checkout Tv did on vitamins.
I didn’t mind it at all, obviously it was product placement but who cares anyway when natures wya sponsers the show and branded online and so on.
I laughed when Shannon did his spiel but I guess if they help there joints well then use them.
I remember a few season ago they just put vitamans on there bed and just take 1 a day.
It was so awkward. I laughed when it came on because unlike the block and Masterchef this was just so obvious. It reminded me of the snappel skit on 30 Rock.
This exchange last night was cringingly bad, would have been better suited to a morning show advertorial than prime time.
Meanwhile, the shows work out wear is Reebok, yet Shannan only ever wears Asics? What’s going on with that?
Who cares… it rated over a mill… how bout writing a stoy about that.. I know it’s non-ratings, but after a rough start, that could have been a story angle today on Biggest Loser rather than another dippy downer… especially after the dubious headline with Michelle’s face. Just a thought… Is there an agenda here? From memory this site doesn’t really like Biggest Loser.
And yes Seven fan boys, I’m sure it will drop when MKR comes back next week. nevertheless.. credit where credit is due.
Now where’s my Krill oil.. my finger joints hurt from bashing this keypad.
How is there an agenda when I’ve given Michelle Bridges a feature interview today? You think I go to all the trouble of meeting her, writing it up and giving it feature status because I have an agenda? Bit silly…. You’ve mentioned nothing about the positive aspects of the same story.
The ratings are very good today, but I’m not doing ratings wraps in non-ratings.