10 Incredibly Shameless Product Placements In Well-Loved TV Shows

1. Modern Family €“ iPad

Modern Family Apple Apple is everywhere, both in real-life and on TV. My friends own Apple products, there's a forest of Apple monitors in my office and I have to pass an Apple store on my daily commute. When I turn on my TV, I see characters using Macs emblazoned with that distinctive logo. Those advertising chaps truly did their job right, is what I'm saying. Yet usually, despite being everywhere, their product placement tends to be fairly inconspicuous. They might be in the background decorating a fancy new office, but it's very rare that a plot tends to revolve around the actual product itself. However, Modern Family spectacularly bucked that trend with 'Game Changer,' when Claire attempts to buy an iPad for Phil, who happens to be a technophile who shares his birthday with the iPad release date. If it all seems a bit convenient, that's because it is €“ in fact, it's shamelessly convenient. I don't think TV audiences like it when they're being so transparently tricked like this €“ they set the iPad up on a pedestal, and have Claire run a gauntlet to receive its sleek goodness. It's just a bit too on-the-nose €“ it's an obvious attempt to shill a new product, made all the more shameless by the fact the episode was broadcast just a few days before the iPad's release. For shame, Modern Family writers, for shame. So that's what's I've got. What do you think? Can you think of any more? Feel free to comment!
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Durham University graduate and qualified sports journalist. Very good at sitting down and watching things. Can multi-task this with playing computer games. Football Manager addict who has taken Shrewsbury Town to the summit of the Premier League. You can follow me at @Ed_OwenUK, if you like ramblings about Newcastle United and A Place in the Sun. If you don't, I don't know what I can do for you.