The Screen Actors Guild is reiterating its position that the Federal Communications Commission should take an in-between step on TV product placement: Heighten requirements for disclosure at each show’s beginning and end, but not every time a product is seen.
In comments filed today with the FCC, SAG suggested that despite what advertisers and broadcasters say, “stealth messages” are blurring the line between programming and advertising.
The FCC is examining whether its current requirements for product placement disclosure go far enough. Some critics of product placement have urged the FCC to require disclosures every time a paid product placement is seen on a show. Advertisers and broadcasters, meanwhile, have questioned whether consumers are really being misled and questioned the need for changes.
SAG, which had earlier expressed its concerns, in its latest comments said there are problems with product placement, but the better answer was to require clear video and audio disclosure of the products’ use at the beginning and end of each program.
“Increased disclosure is critical to preserving the integrity of television programming by ensuring that the American viewing public knows who is trying to persuade them as they watch a particular program,” the actors union said in its comments to the FCC.