China’s ‘Ugly Betty’ is one long product placement

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NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — As it goes into its third season as asmash TV hit across the mainland, the Chinese version of “Ugly Betty”is also pioneering new levels of product placement clutter. The show isset in an advertising agency rather than a fashion magazine and, so,enables the program to focus on all manner of products and theirattributes. Mateo Eaton, who heads the branded content division ofMindshare North Asia, admits that the dense placements are a bit overthe top, but advertisers — and the TV producers they’re paying –aren’t complaining at all.