A Case of the.... Smallville - Episode 7-14

I complimented last week’s Smallville for advertising without coming off as blatant (as they incorporated the product into the episode’s plot). This week, I’m going to criticize them for doing the opposite. Not only was the product placement blatant, it was awkward and distracting. Like, do we really need an out-of-nowhere shot of Chloe using her mouse so that we can see the Dell logo? Or the unusual panning of Chloe’s car so that we can see that it’s a Toyota? I recognize that the CW is not the cash cow that the big boy networks are, and that TiVo and DVRs have really roughed up the whole commercial advertising industry, but let me offer a little suggestion: If you’re going to do product placement, use your Stride gum model, not your Toyota/Dell method.

http://primetimepulse.insidepulse.com/2008/03/26/a-case-of-the-smallville-episode-7-14/