Last Wednesday on NBC’s new show, 30 Rock, I witnessed one of the most seamless product placements ever. There may be better examples out there, but this particular product placement took me back¦ once I noticed what it was.
In the way only Alec Baldwin can, he plays Jack Donaghy, a new network executive who landed the gig by allegedly coming up with the innovative design of the GE Profile Trivection oven. This oven speeds up cooking time by using three types of heat to cook.
In the exchange where Baldwin explains to Tina Fey’s character, Liz Lemon, that he is taking over the show that she is currently head writer for, he uses the GE Profile as a model for the way he wants to run the show. Baldwin then starts into a comical listing of the product’s features that genuinely makes you interested in the oven. Did you know that you can cook an entire turkey in twenty-two minutes with this oven? he asks a speechless Fey.
At the end of the dialogue, Baldwin calls Tracy Morgan’s character the third heat to illustrate how he will make the show just as great as this GE oven.
This product placement was great writing. It was also great advertising. It wasn’t simply putting the product in the frame and hoping it would rub off on the viewer. This was a compelling bit of ad copy inserted into the show’s dialogue without anyone even really knowing.
I was very impressed and I think I’d like to find out more about that oven.