Ben: Advertising in Purchased Irish Media Programs

One aspect of Irish media that I found particularly interesting was the use of advertising during television programs, specifically American programs. Here in the United States, during a syndicated program, the most that is acknowledged specific to a product sponsoring the show is one of the show’s stars declaring that “this episode is brought to you by…” and inserting commercials to follow. I noticed here that there are separate advertisements made to show the sponsors of a particular program, and that these ads are made specifically to be paired with the show. For instance, upon viewing a Malcolm In The Middle episode, a Sharpie commercial was made, depicting a hand writing Malcolm on items like a lunchbox or a basketball. These commercials take the products that sponsor the show and relate them to the show’s subject matter.
Another example of this specialized marketing is seen during My Super Sweet Sixteen, a show that was shown so often that I regrettably say I watched more of on this trip than I have before in my life. The ad shows a young girl telling her friends how awesome her party is going to be, and then the director yells cut and calls for makeup, to the disdain of the young girl. The sponsor is a skin or beauty care company, but it did not work to properly advertise for me (although I am sure it was not meant to) because I do not remember the specific company.
My third example I noticed, and my roommates and I both expressed our contempt for, was a specialized sponsor spot for Miller Genuine Draft during The Sopranos. It contains two glasses of beer at either end of the frame, and two sets of hands, clad in gold jewelry and covered in hair. The spots do not use actual voices from the show, but merely generic American “mobster” voices; discussing clichéd mobster things like “offing” a guy. If these were ads containing actual actors from the show, or at least clips, it may be more effective, but to specialize an advertisement by using fake actors to hock a product that the characters on the show do not even directly advertise seems so passive and contrived.
My thought about all this is as follows. While I think that a specialized advertisement showing the sponsor’s product can be useful, it must be used properly. A faceless hand writing the main character’s name to show the function of a felt-tipped pen in everyday household uses seems to work for the company. It shows the product’s usage in a household setting, but without drawing too much from the plot of the show to which it has no direct relevance. When a product is applied directly to the motif of the program, I think it applies the product’s image too much to that specific usage, and ultimately cheapens both the sponsor’s image, and the program’s.