by Art Young

Created on: July 04, 2009   Last Updated: July 07, 2009

The red cup with the iconic "Coke" logo emblazoned on the side sitting prominently in front of the four "American Idol" judges has become a part of the set. Coke is a part of the action as they critique the talents of wannabe singers while billions watch with electric anxiety.

This is one of the best examples of a "product placement" strategy on television. This ratings' behemoth also airs slickly produced music videos for "Ford" which have the finalists of "Idol" hamming it up around the latest Ford vehicle.

So are these vignettes which feature brand name products commercials or entertainment? Of course, they're both, which makes them incredibly powerful communications tools for the companies that wrote the checks to the producers of "American Idol."

Incorporating products in television programs has been around as long as the medium. Proctor & Gamble, the maker of "Tide" and "Ivory" soap, invented daytime dramatic serials that appeared on radio in the 1930's and then on television in the early 1950's. For this reason, these programs are still called "soap operas." In the early days, it was even common for the hosts of TV variety and even news shows to be seen on screen smoking the brand of cigarettes that sponsored the show.

The halo effect of being a part of a hit television show can be very powerful for brands and products that have the budget to play this game. While most mature adults understand that Paula Abdul is not necessarily a devoted Coke lover, but rather is paid to appear to be one, what happens when this same psychological slight of hand is dealt to kids?

Hasbro, the toy manufacturer that has also been involved in the production of the movies about "Transformers" and "G.I. Joe" along with the owners of the Discovery cable network are about to find out. They are launching a new channel for kids in 2010 that will feature programming that is developed from Hasbro toy properties. As might be imagined, not everyone is happy about this.

According to the securities filings, Hasbro will pay Discovery $300 million in cash for 50 percent share in this new venture. The cable network will contribute the U.S. operations of "Discovery Kids." Hasbro has also agreed to pay the new venture an additional $125 million in merchandising royalties from July 2009 to November 2013.

The management of Hasbro was quoted in the "Wall Street Journal" as saying that getting into the production of kid's television programs is a part of an effort to transform itself

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