The Stage

ITV rapped over prominence of Ford during American Idol

Published Monday 21 July 2008 at 14:25 by Matthew Hemley

Ofcom has censured ITV for breaking product placement rules, after it broadcast episodes of US show American Idol that included references to car manufacturer Ford.

Final rounds of the talent show, aired on ITV2, included the contestants in music videos sponsored by the car giant.

Although product placement is permitted in the US, where the show is made and originally broadcast, it is forbidden in UK television.

Ofcom said the show broke part of its code which states that products and services must not be given undue prominence in a programme.

In response, however, ITV said the music videos in question were included on their “editorial merits” in terms of entertainment value to audiences and were not the result of any relationship between the broadcaster and Ford.

While Ford vehicles did feature in each music video, ITV said it had edited the material to avoid the cars and any Ford branding or references being unduly prominent. It said it had superimposed Ford logos with American Idol logos and blurred prominent branding on the cars themselves.

Ofcom noted that ITV did not “directly benefit” from the inclusion of the music videos in the UK broadcast of American Idol, but ruled there were “prolonged or close-up shots of Ford vehicles” and that the programme presenter referred twice to “the Ford music videos”. The regulator said this reinforced the impression that the video was intended to promote Ford.

“We therefore found the references to Ford to be unduly prominent,” it concluded.