Contextual ads aren't just for the internet

Contextual advertising is not something that we get the opportunity to cash in on very often on a local level, but more and more national brands are gaining an edge with every marketing dollar placed within program content.
For your consideration:
Whitney Port of the MTV series The City was announced as the spokesperson for Zeno Hot Spot this spring.  Zeno introduced a blemish prevention kit earlier this year, which includes a hydrating anti-acne cream and a battery-operated device that produces heat to optimize the results.  Whitney appears in print ads, television spots and on their website.  The genius here is the placement of the television spots.  The spots are placed in nearly every commercial break leading into, during and leading out of The City.

Earlier this week on an episode of The Secret Life of the American Teenager Grace Bowman’s mother gives her the Morning Burst Surge by Clean & Clear and tells her that “you can wash your face with it in the morning and it gives you a burst of energy in the afternoon.”  Whoa!  Is that product placement or what?!   Rather than just placing the product within the scene, they’ve actually worked a description of the product into the dialog.  Clean & Clear could have not bought a better ad space, especially for a new product.
With consumers having a million choices it is only going to become more important to break through the clutter of traditional ad space.  The Coca-Cola cups are as much of American Idol history as Randy, Paula and Simon, however companies are going to increasingly be on the lookout for any opportunity to get within program content.