Product placement sneaks its way into drama dialogue

29 April 5, 2010April 5, 2010

Product placement sneaks its way into drama dialogue

by javabeans

If you’ve been watching MBC’s campy weekend action drama A Man Called God, you may have caught on to one of the phrases oft-uttered between Song Il-kook and Han Go-eun: “Why not?”

Turns out that line is a bit of stealth advertising. Rather than inserting a product directly into the drama, advertiser Samsung Card has chosen to promote its brand slogan. As one of their marketing reps explained, “It’s one of our ways of product placement (PPL). The phrase ‘Why not?’ tells our customers that we can do whatever they want. In the drama, Song Il-kook plays a character who can do whatever he wants… Therefore, the PPL marketing melds in naturally as dialogue.”

Whether you like it or not, product placement is on the rise in Korean dramas. Part of the reason for that is soaring production costs; to off-set the ever-increasing drama budgets, production companies are relying more and more on exporting the shows overseas and incorporating product placement. Some shows have crossed the line by overdoing the PPL marketing, as last year’s Style was criticized for doing. Now, advertisers are choosing to get more creative with the modes of delivering their messages to audiences.

Using a catchphrase as product placement is unusual, but who wants to bet we’ll be seeing (er, hearing) more of that in the future? After all, recall how certain phrases have come into common use because of the dramas that popularized them: My Girl had “You will be blessed!,” Fantasy Couple had “Look at that” (꼬라지 하고는), and Style was inundated with “With edge!” Now imagine if they got paid every time they said it.

Via Now News

Required fields are marked *

26 maAkusutipen

April 5, 2010 at 10:34 PM

Well at least product placement is relegated to one liners. In Philippine recent drama, it is much worse. Situations, storylines will be disrupted as contrived scenarios recalling commercial skits and taglines from other advertising campaigns of the products the show is sponsored by get reenacted by the characters of the show. To top it off, Philippine dramas still get commercial breaks!

For an example, for our own version of Wonder woman never forgets to buy from the local neighborhood store some cellphone credits. Instead of going through her transformation sequence right away, she goes to the nearest store and painstakingly demonstrate how to top up your cellphone with credits. Then she goes off to transform and save the day... WTH?!?

Required fields are marked *

27 karened

April 6, 2010 at 9:10 AM

This is one creative way of PPL......But I really really hate PPLs. And all those brand censoring/blurring. I got used to it after watchign a few series, but once I return to Jdoramas, the feeling returns! How I wish I can watch the dramas without being distracting by all the blurring of brand names, making it feel so commercial instead of artistic. But well, it's how the industry there works, so no choice I guess.

Required fields are marked *

28 aprilborn

April 6, 2010 at 11:28 AM

Actually ,whether we approve or not these marketing guys will market their products they are just more innovative/creative in doing so . They've got mouths to feed so they have to make a living y'know. As long as they do not prevent you from enjoyment your dose of daily /weekly drama -let them be . Sometimes ,the placement is funny , so it adds pleasure ,too .