TVSquad

This morning, Wired News put out an article that details how TV writers, through the Writer's Guild, are looking to get extra money from show producers if they are to be forced to shoehorn product placements into their scripts. They're also seeking a code of conduct that will govern how this kind of advertising is utilized.

At first, I thought putting product placements in TV scripts wasn't such a big deal: either the writer inserts a brand name car, for instance, into a plot that already involves the car, or puts in a stage direction like "George takes a bite of his Rold Gold." But some of the placement examples given in this article are at least a bit kludgy to implement. For instance writers for Medium had to insert three references to the movie Memoirs of a Geisha into a recent episode, including a scene where the main characters go to a screening, then discuss the movie with a couple they bump into.

My, my, that's quite a little clusterf**k those writers had to perform there, wasn't it? No wonder why they wanted more money. And as DVRs become more prominent, this problem is only going to get worse. I can't wait until the characters on Family Guy have to discuss their thoughts on the movie Munich. Should be a scream.

[via Mediabistro]