¶ … Cowley, E. And Barron, C. "When Product Placement Goes Wrong: The Effects of Program Liking and Placement Prominence." Journal of Advertising, Vol. 37, " © 2008 American Academy of Advertising.

This research article focused on the manner in which advertisements in the form of product placement in entertainment media (primarily movies and television) can be counterproductive. Specifically, the project set out to analyze the changes in attitudes toward a product among entertainment consumers as function of different types of product placement. The research concluded that some types of media consumers are more likely than others to respond positively to certain product placement strategies while other types of media consumers are actually more likely to react negatively and reduce their affinity for products (and brand images) advertised in this way. The results are obviously important to the advertising industry and to product manufacturers who...

prefer to maintain the most favorable public image possible for their firms and for their products.
Experimental Hypotheses

The researchers proposed three experimental hypotheses: (1) That higher-in-program-liking (HPL) viewers would remember product placement in programs more than lower-in-program-liking (LPL) viewers (2) That HPL viewers exposed to product placements would report lower brand attitudes for those products than HPL viewers who were not exposed to product placements for those products (or brands); and (3) That any negative reaction to prominent product placements will be greater among HPL viewers than among LPL viewers.

Methodology

The method employed by the researchers consisted of exposing different groups of television viewers to episodes of Seinfeld specifically chosen because a commercial product (such as Pantene shampoo, M&M candy, Ruffles potato chips, and Diet Coke) were featured in different degrees…