Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York & Los Angeles

Last week I was having dinner with a friend and we were discussing advertising and pr. He has previously worked at a pr firm and has recently moved into the marketing/advertising side of it. He insists pr has lost its value. He argues that this is due to advertising dollars plummeting—meaning, companies are no longer interested in spending their money for ads—he says that publishers are beginning to negotiate and not only allot them ad space, but will promise so many editorial placements a year. I have been told time and time again that the editor is swayed at times to feature an advertiser—sort of a “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.” Now while I’d like to think this is not true I am constantly reminded of paid sponsorship and deliberate placements that were definitely paid for. I remember a time when I would watch a movie and the brand name would be changed to some “generic” name or would simply be flashed or not shown at all. Now-watching a movie is almost as bad as thumbing through the September issue of a fashion book with ads galore. I was watching “The Island” last week—I know, I know, it was on Cinemax or something, okay! I remember noticing several deliberate placements—from Puma shoes to several food brands. I have written before about the deliberate and I must say annoying interference of product placement on my favorite show Project Runway. Now Best Week Ever, another fave of mine is working with Old Navy and it is ALL OVER THE PLACE.

I mean seriously, can we make it any harder for us to do our jobs. What about the days when an editor actually featured a product because they liked it or because it was actually a great product. Or what about when we could flip through the television without being bombarded with shameless paid sponsorships? Let’s leave product placements to the professionals—the pr professionals—not advertising professionals who charge rediculous amounts of $$$.