Guilds Expect To Be Paid For Their Forced Whoring
The Guilds are advocating full disclosure of "brand integration" the growing trend by which advertisers are slyly embedding their messages directly into reality and scripted television content (though you might start getting suspicious the sixth time Donald Trump mentions how Star Wars' Luke-Obi Wan relationship was in essence the first incarnation of The Apprentice).
The Writers Guild of America planned to release a study Monday calling for a code of conduct that would mandate full disclosure of all product integration deals at the beginning of a program so viewers would know they will be "subject to hidden or stealth advertising," according to a news release.
"Just as there is an established right to truth-in-advertising, there should be a similar right to truth-in-programming where advertising is concerned," said Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg.The code would also require the issue to be discussed in bargaining with the studios to give actors, writers and directors a voice in how products are woven into the plot.
"We are being told to write the lines that sell this merchandise and to deftly disguise the sale as a story," the study states.
Unsurprisingly, the Guilds are also demanding a piece of the profits derived from these product placements. It's not an unreasonable request to expect to be compensated for the little part of a writer, actor or director's soul that dies each time they get a memo from NBC's Strategic Corporate Partnerships asking them to make sure that this week's Law and Order: SVU victim is prominently drinking a Pepsi right before her fatal violation.
