Fun TV Product Placements

The ban on product placement in British television programmes is being lifted. The intention is to throw a lifeline to struggling independent broadcasters by opening a new line of revenue.

The shift in the rules will apply only to commercial broadcasters. This means that Ashes To Ashes, for example, must adhere to the code as it stands now. Although it is made by production company Kudos, it is transmitted on the BBC.

The ban will also remain in force for all children's programmes across all networks. This u-turn is not without controversy; detractors point to scene-after-scene of product placements in James Bond films to support their contention that the relaxation may detrimentally affect the quality of small screen programming. One thing's for certain, the TV landscape in the UK will be forever altered.

Strictly for fun, I've imagined the brands that might be popping up in a TV show near you soon and detailed them in the gallery. What would be the perfect fit for Katie Price's ITV2 reality show?

The views in this column/blog are those of the author alone and not of MSN or Microsoft.

• An overview of the product placement issue
• Product placement on TV; a good thing or not? Have your say here