Product placement in TV and movies is nothing new. Sony for example almost single-handedly funded Casino Royale a few years back, and Ford has had its products all over the CW network for ages now. I’m generally alright with product placement in TV and movies, as long as it’s not overt. What follows is a lesson direct from Microsoft about how not to subtly place your product in front of an audience.
Microsoft clearly paid for some time during the latest episode of NCIS: Los Angeles. During this time, the Surface RT tablet would be featured in all its glory. Usually what happens is a product gets name-checked or seen on-screen for a brief moment, before the action continues. Not Microsoft.
Somehow, the marketing boffins at Redmond managed to get the director of NCIS: Los Angeles to pause the action for a moment to wander into a product demonstration of Windows 8 and a tour around the hardware of the Surface RT.
This is shameless plugging at its best. Take it in, readers.
Honestly, I see why Microsoft has done it. It wants to get the new flagship products — Windows and Surface — before the masses in a way that will make ordinary consumers take notice amidst all the action, but to tech-loving folk like you and I, this feels dirty.
What do you think?