According to Product Placement News, brands like Toyota, Clorox, Food & Wine Magazine, Campbell’s soup, Diet Dr. Pepper and Quaker are all paid for product placement on the upcoming season of Top Chef that starts this month on Bravo TV.  It sounds like each of these brands can realistically fit into the Top Chef premise.  The problem will come when brands that have nothing to do with the show they’re placed in are approved for placement. 

The great thing with reality TV is product placements can be worked in from so many angles.  Think of the Top Chef example.  The chefs can drive Toyota vehicles to purchase ingredients, use Clorox to clean the kitchen, incorporate Campbell’s soup, Quaker products or Diet Dr. Pepsi into a recipe (or simply drink Diet Dr. Pepsi). 

Now, if we start to see brands like Heinz on Top Chef, then there will be a disconnect.  I watch Top Chef, and I know chefs don’t like ketchup.  If they start pouring ketchup on their Kobe beef, then the product placements will lose all value.  Project Runway came close to self-destructing this past season when the designers were asked to create garments from Saturn car parts. 

What do you think?  Are product placements on reality TV shows becoming over saturated or is there still room for well-placed products?

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