I'll have what she's having: Gauging the impact of product placements on viewers

Product placement in TV shows is becoming increasingly common, yet little i s known about its effectiveness nor even how to define and measure such eff ectiveness. This research examined the effectiveness of product placement w ith the use of two different types of measures: explicit measures that tap memory directly (with the use of a recognition and recall task), and an imp licit measure that measures the effect of exposure on product choice indire ctly. It was hypothesized that the ability of product placement to enhance memory and choice may be mediated by distinct mechanisms. The results showe d an overall enhancement in product recall, recognition, and choice due to placement. Further, although products central to the plot were remembered a nd recalled more than products placed more subtly, no reliable effect of ce ntrality of placement was observed on the choice measure. This dissociation also occurred with modality of placement-where seen-only products most inf luenced choice but were least recalled. The present data conform to theorie s of memory, which predict that performance on explicit memory task can be dissociated or uncorrelated with performance on implicit performance or cho ice. This finding has significant implications for how product placements a re designed and how their efficacy evaluated. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, I nc.