Breaking Ad

House of Cards: "Is that a PS Vita?"                                             screen shot

Remember the Reese's Pieces in E.T.? Or the FedEx boxes (and everything else) in Cast Away? Product placement ~ aka "native advertising" ~ is nothing new, but the extent to which it's being used these days is. On television alone, the $8.25 billion companies spent in 2012 to get their products placed in shows just may double in the next few years. And, of course, companies are cropping up to help the process along, including using CGI to insert audience-specific logos and products after filming (story, video): http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jun/24/breaking-bad-tv-product-placement
   It seems that no companies were lining up to get placed in the first few episodes of Breaking Bad, but that all changed as the show's viewership soared: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathansalembaskin/2013/09/25/anathema-no-more-breaking-bad-is-redefining-rules-for-product-placement/