It’s Okay, It’s Love in product placement controversy
by awcoconuts
GT Production, the company behind SBS’s upcoming Wednesday-Thursday drama It’s Okay, It’s Love, is currently embroiled in controversy about the show’s potential use of embedded marketing. Reports have surfaced that an unnamed publishing company received a proposal from GT Production demanding ￦500,000,000 (roughly $470,000 USD) for placement of products within the drama, and for guaranteed usage of the product(s) by the leading and supporting actors.
A source from GT Production attempted to defuse the situation by saying, “This process is controlled by the PR agency, and the production side knows nothing about dollar amounts or what discussions have occurred.” Production will sometimes get involved with product placement, but typically, a PR agency will first solicit advertisers. Once the advertisers are on board, the PR and production teams then collaborate to fulfill advertising obligations. That sounds like that may have happened in this situation, with the production team unaware, at this stage, of the PR team’s wheelings and dealings.
The source indicated that the last time embedded marketing tactics were used, “We [the production] put the show above anything else. It is ridiculous to say that we would create a story about products or modify the story because of the need to advertise.”
GT Production said to a different news outlet, “While product placement is becoming increasingly popular, we are trying to abstain from product placement that would have a noticeable effect on the series. In particular, scriptwriter Noh Hee-kyung seeks purity, and she is firm about not letting [indirect advertising interfere with her writing].” The source expressed bewilderment at the report of the ￦500,000,000 offer, as the drama is still in the early development stage and nothing has been confirmed in terms of product placement.
Holy drama. Well, it is a lot of money, but as we know, product placement in dramas is highly effective (case in point: Chun Song-yi’s lip gloss in You From Another Star). The controversy seems a bit premature, and, if the products can be worked subtly into the drama (the lead actors schilling motor oil would be another thing), the advertising dollars will boost the production budget, which in theory will lead to a better quality show. Although, if they read an excerpt from the same book in every at-home scene, I might take issue.
This melodrama, with its psychology theme, will be the third consecutive collaboration between writer Noh Hee-kyung and PD Kim Kyu-tae, and their fourth collaboration overall. They finished up That Winter, The Wind Blows about a year ago, which starred Jo In-sung, who is currently up to headline this drama (all three must like familiarity) with actress Gong Hyo-jin (Master’s Sun). The drama will likely air in July or August.
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Tags: drama production
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1 mary
March 15, 2014 at 9:22 AM
Wait, isn't the rule backwards?
You mean they should write the story first then wait for advertisers to approach? Even if said products aren't really impt in the drama? Like the orange juice in King of Dramas?
Doesn't it make more sense to (eg) approach coconut lotion companies if you know that your plot/script involves a Genius Chaebol Heir to a coconut plantation?
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2 topper
March 15, 2014 at 9:39 AM
Is this a big controversy? I thought it only becomes a problem when there's too much PPL on screen and viewers and some authority start complaining. Not how much money a drama gets from PPL nor what method it use to get that money.
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3 ilikemangos
March 15, 2014 at 10:08 AM
"It is ridiculous to say that we would create a story about products or modify the story because of the need to advertise.”
haha
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4 Harem
March 15, 2014 at 10:14 AM
I read at another website last week that D.0 from exo and Lee Kwang Soo joining the cast? Kwang soo will be in role as one of the main cast that have tourette syndrome while D.O I'm not really remember his role.
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5 Meh
March 15, 2014 at 10:34 AM
Is this a medical drama?
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6 birdscout
March 15, 2014 at 10:39 AM
Seeing these photos of JIS and GHJ side-by-side makes me excited for this drama!
Maybe we can make up a drinking game when this drama airs to point out all the PPL :)
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7 pogo 🍉
March 15, 2014 at 10:44 AM
eh, it's a bit tempest in a teapot. PPL is a fact of kdrama life, and obviously the deals have to be made somehow - I guess the fuss is that the PR sent out a proposal instead of waiting to be approached? Silly.
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8 tiiired
March 15, 2014 at 10:45 AM
oh anthony ....
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9 Mandy
March 15, 2014 at 10:50 AM
Wait... More importantly - I didn't know they already confirmed to star?!? I think this drama's story is way too convoluted for my liking and I was hoping GHJ accepts something else. But if she's on, so am I.
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10 hummie
March 15, 2014 at 11:05 AM
I don't mind product placement as long as it's tastefully done e.g. not focusing too much on the product so much that it seems like a CF.
I was really distracted by the Chi product placement in Miss Korea. They'd be like, "Oh, your hair needs lustre!" *cue camera zoom and application of product to character's hair* :P
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11 Jenniec
March 15, 2014 at 11:20 AM
Can they just confirm already???? I wanna see them together
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12 Gwinna
March 15, 2014 at 11:26 AM
As long as it isn't too blatant, I prefer product placement in a drama to having the show be interrupted every few minutes for commercials.
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13 hanhan
March 15, 2014 at 11:46 AM
Yeah, i've read that too, i think the role suits him perfectly.
i hope he accepts the role.
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14 hanhan
March 15, 2014 at 11:47 AM
Yeah, i’ve read that too, i think the role suits him perfectly.
i hope he accepts the role.
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15 ujsid
March 15, 2014 at 11:54 AM
I honestly don't care about it. If the drama is good then I will watch it. I am not the target audience for majority of Korean advertisements anyways ha!
Plus I like Jo In Sung and I LOVE Gong Hyo Jin, so this kind of "controversy" is not really gonna divert my attention (^^)b
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16 jemellee
March 15, 2014 at 12:56 PM
I love how everybody thinks of Anthony when product placements is the topic :)
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17 Hugepuffball
March 15, 2014 at 1:05 PM
You know, as long as no orange juice suicides occur, I'm good.
No wait- an orange juice suicide for META would be beautiful....
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18 Langit13iru
March 15, 2014 at 1:26 PM
Seriously, Korea. I used to work in a tv station and it so different from Korea. For a drama, we don't have a product placement thingie. We called it sponsor. Let's say the actors got sponsor for clothes. It will only appear on credit roll.
For product placement, we called it a branded content program. You can put it on everything that you want as long as u pay for it.
But then for that amount stated it is too much. It can produce 13 episode of drama in my country.
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19 laraffinee
March 15, 2014 at 2:07 PM
Some of the recent product placements are getting annoying.
Enough with the camping gear.
Enough will all of the Portmerion china closeups. About three dramas are shilling the Portmerion.
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20 windsun33
March 15, 2014 at 2:09 PM
Not like product placement is anything new. Probably the most famous screw up even to this day was the movie ET - where M&M turned the offer down because they did not want their product associated with some alien, so Reese's Pieces appeared. Sales of Reese's jumped like 5,000% or so...
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21 lulu88
March 15, 2014 at 3:47 PM
Didn't GHJ have a recent advertiser controversy? Maybe the advertiser is getting written into the script as settlement for that kerfuffle?
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22 CaroleMcDonnell
March 15, 2014 at 4:00 PM
Dang! A publishing company! I'm trying to get my head around that. Does a publishing company mean a magazine? A book company?
Sorry for the dumb question but.....
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23 thursdaynexxt
March 15, 2014 at 4:59 PM
I'd rather have one too many PPLs, if only for the laugh (King of Dramas) factor, than a storyline that gets weirdly written or altered at the last moment, purely based on fanservice!
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24 1beteans
March 15, 2014 at 5:30 PM
I'm confused. I've noticed this while watching dramas over the years: is it that the show don't have commercial breaks? I do find the super obvious product placement amusing but do they not put commercials?
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25 Viki
March 15, 2014 at 6:29 PM
Well, true, true, true that product placement, when placed well (like Cheon Song Yi's lipsticks), they sell off the shells like hotcakes...and it doesn't really interfere with the drama...
but at the same time, when they try to plug in dumb product placements in dramas (LINE app in You from the Stars)..it's so obvious and redundant...
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26 Aigoooo
March 15, 2014 at 6:59 PM
Someone should start a company that sells retro apparel inspired by the Joseon Dynasty just to see if they can pull off doing a PPL on a sageuk drama. lol
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27 R
March 15, 2014 at 8:52 PM
Correct me if I'm wrong but Chun Song Yi's brand of lipstick wasn't deliberately shown in the drama was it? It was the viewers that liked what they saw on her lips and decided to look up the brand and colour(ysl 52 rosy coral lol). So it isn't exactly PPL......
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28 Laden
March 16, 2014 at 8:01 AM
As long as its not distracting like the fact that do min joon had to go night fishing with lawyer jang in yfas and everything just had to have BEANPOLE on it from the tent to the jackets to the chairs to their warm caps even to the thread of the fishing pole including even the fish
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29 shikurai17
March 16, 2014 at 4:26 PM
I don't mind product placements. Most of the time I don't notice them. Sometimes, I wish they were more obvious when it comes to clothes. I see a character wearing something awesome and I want to buy it. Finding it is like the hardest thing. It's like they keep it top secret.
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30 Sunny
March 17, 2014 at 1:01 AM
"case in point: Chun Song-yi’s lip gloss in You From Another Star"
More like everything from You From Another Star. From make-up to clothes to food, all of the products that have appeared in the drama have gotten crazy popular.
There is so much product placement in dramas. I'm used to it.
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31 Ann
March 17, 2014 at 8:06 AM
Gag Concert has been doing a hilarious and popular skit based on bad drama plotting and inserting PPLs.
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