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Recent marketing trends have seen a move from the in your face advertising of Buy, Buy, Buy!' towards the more subtle methods of product placement. Product placement is all about having real life scenarios such as in movies, television, music and books which subtly include your product in the background, almost like a subliminal message that arrows into the impulses of the consumer. So, why are companies choosing to spend some of their marketing budget on product placement as opposed to sticking all their eggs in the advertisement basket?

The answer is quite simple. People see and hear advertisements wherever they go. Just try counting how many advertisements that you hear or see in a day and it will probably come as quite a shock. Businesses are becoming aware that consumers don't always like this approach and have started using the placement method as a quieter but no less effective way to show off their products. For what other reason would Jack Bauer be driving a Ford car for in 24? Of course, it also means that television networks can make money from product placements and have less advertisement breaks between shows.

Television and movies aren't the only places where product placement is being used. It is prominent in many video games, in music, on radio, naturally on the Internet and any other media type that you can think of.

Clever marketing teams try to place their products into real life situations without it being the centre of attention. The last thing a viewer or listener wants is to hear one long commercial for a product. Bad product placement can be very costly and be damaging to the image of a company such as if Captain Jack Sparrow were drinking a Coca Cola all the way through Pirates of the Caribbean. The product must fit the context and almost seamlessly be involved with the scene. A great example is Big Daddy' starring Adam Sandler where the main character is often going to McDonalds to set up a scene where he complains about the timing of their breakfasts.

As it stands, movies are the most popular setting for product placement. This is probably due to their length and the sheer number of scenes within a movie which allow for placement during different scenarios. However, it is becoming increasing popular on television with the judges on American Idol' for example, having a Coca Cola on the table in front of them throughout the entire show and the contestants relax in the Coca Cola' room between performances.

The likes of TiVo and SkyPlus have

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