Is it a show or a commercial? Viewers beware: now that skipping the ads is so easy, products are being scripted directly into TV show.

• Author: Manly, Lorne
• Position: MEDIA

On a recent episode of the WB's What I Like About You, the character played by the show's young star, Amanda Bynes, competes against a friend to be in a shampoo commercial. It seems like a fairly typical plot line, but in fact, it's been scripted to showcase Herbal Essences, whose products feature heavily in the episode.

Similarly, over on Fox, Bernie Mac pops Rolaids while ranting about life's injustices and his stomach pains on The Bernie Mac Show. And on ABC's Desperate Housewives, Eva Longoria's character, Gabrielle Solis, finds herself hard up for money and takes a job at a mall as a spokesmodel for the new Buick LaCrosse.

Welcome to the next generation of product placement: Brands of sodas, cars, jeans, soups, and appliances are no longer just occasional props on TV shows, as they were until about five years ago. Instead, as part of more elaborate marketing deals, advertisers are increasingly working with writers, producers, and the networks' advertising departments to incorporate products into the story lines of both scripted and reality shows.

SKIPPING THE ADS

Companies are turning to more-sophisticated kinds of product placement on television because they're worried that viewers are no longer paying attention to their ads--especially with the proliferation of devices like TiVo, which let viewers fast-forward through commercials. While such digital video recorders are currently in fewer than 10 million households, marketers are preparing for the day when millions more viewers are able to skip right past their 30second ads.

Fearing that standard commercial spots are losing their effectiveness and reach, companies are scrambling to adapt. Many are cutting their ad budgets and throwing more money into product-placement deals.

But not everyone is thrilled with the trend. Some creators of TV shows worry that "branded entertainment" could turn television characters into product promoters instead of storytellers. And the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has turned a wary eye on a practice it sees as little more than stealth advertising.

In some ways, this newfangled form of branded entertainment harks back to the beginnings of television. Half a century ago, ad agencies themselves often produced shows like The Colgate Comedy Hour and Texaco Star Theater, in which a chorus line of dapper gas-station attendants opened each show by singing the Texaco jingle ("Oh, we're the men of Texaco, we work from Maine to Mexico") before...