Ask John: Should Product Placement Appear in Anime?

Question:
I was wondering what John’s thoughts were on product placement in anime. Product placement seems to be a growing trend in Hollywood movies, and now seems to be growing in the anime industry, with Pizza Hut’s deal with Sunrise to put Pizza Hut pizza in Code Geass, and the new Eva movie with Pizza Hut, Pepsi, Doritos, Ebisu beer, and UCC Coffee appearing prominently.

Answer:
As with most everything, there are two approaches to product placement – the overt display of commercial products within a film for the purpose of innocuous or unconscious advertising. By definition, product placement is an unnecessary commercial imposition that’s often distracting to astute viewers. On the other hand, product placement may be interpreted as a means of heightening versimilitude. The prominent references to Pizza Hut in the Code Geass television series, or the numerous identifiable real world products visible in the first Renewal of Evangelion movie may feel like obnoxious advertising.

On the other hand, manipulated product names like “WacDonalds” in place of “McDonads” in anime including Inuyasha, Kaze no Stigma, and Megazone 23; the use of “Suny” in place of “Sony” in Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer; and “Pochy” in place of “Pocky” in Onegai Teacher can be equally distracting because viewers recognize the slight changes regardless of their conscious desires. The argument may be made that fictional, altered product names successfully create the impression of reality without subjecting viewers to embedded advertising. However, the fact that viewers frequently still recognize the identity of obfuscated product names suggests that the obfuscation was pointless.

The European Union outright bans product placement in television programming targeted at children. Product placement in American entertainment is governed by the Federal Trade Commission, which does not have solidified rules prohibiting product placement in children’s programming, although the 1996 Children’s Advertising Review Unit Guideline established by the American advertising industry does discourage product integration in children’s programming. Furthermore, overt product advertisements during children’s programming is outlawed in America. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) first established the defining concept of “program length commercials” in 1969. The Children’s Television Act of 1990 defined “program-length commercials” as “a program associated with a product, in which commercials for that product are aired” and outlawed their broadcast. So it’s illegal in America to broadcast TV commercials directly related to a children’s program during the program’s broadcast. Product placement and advertising laws in Japan are obviously less strict, as aforementioned examples prove, coupled with the fact that Japanese children’s anime are routinely broadcast with affiliated commercials.

Like it or not, product placement is probably an entrenched and permanent component of anime. In fact, on one hand I’ll be pleased as long as anime continues to feature paid advertising cameos because that means major Japanese corporations are still willing to invest in and sponsor new anime productions. There are countless anime productions that don’t include any variety of intentional external advertising. I don’t object to product placement in anime when it does occur because I realize that it’s sometimes a necessary compromise to get new anime produced. Furthermore, the inclusion of real world details, regardless of their purpose, is one of the unique Japanese characteristics of anime that distinguishes anime from other animation. While I can’t say that I’m in favor of blatant advertising inserted into the construction of anime, I do appreciate the way anime sometimes incorporates nuances and small details such as product integration that enhances the illusion of believability.