So, This Morning will be the first UK TV show to feature paid for product placement. Phil and Holly will be making cups of Nescafe for their guests with their new Dolce Gusto machine. The deal has cost Nestle £100,000 for a three month package.

There has been a great deal of debate about how this will impact on viewers’ experience of prime time shows. Will our favourite soap stars be extolling the virtues of their favourite cereal whilst sporting branded clothing?

ITV made the Good Morning slot available to PR’s last week and within 36 hours the deal was done. They are keen to let us know that not all these opportunities will be brokered at such short notice, giving clients time to factor the activity into their wider marketing plans.

From a PR point of view I am both excited and saddened by the development. For clients with big budgets to deploy, this new channel to promote their brand is, no doubt, a powerful and important one.  And if anyone is going to be advising on how to get the most out of it, I’d like to think that PR practitioners will be making sure they understand the opportunity.

However, we’ve been placing products on appropriate shows for our clients for years by building up relationships, understanding the production teams’ needs and making sure we’re in the right place at the right time.

Clients who might not have the budget to pay for product placement have seen their products on screen in shows such as Masterchef, The F Word, 60 Minute Makeover, Hollyoaks, Coronation Street, This Morning and Cowboy Builders to name a few. Whilst there was never any overt promotion of these products, we know that their exposure has been great news for our clients.

I know that broadcasters need to make money and I understand that if a product or venture is worthy of news coverage or a feature, it will still have an opportunity to make it to our screens. But, I can’t help thinking that the product placement bandwagon will diminish the variety of everyday items that get an opportunity to reach millions with a flash of their distinguishing features in the hands of a celeb. It’s a shame that big brands with big budgets will dominate where smart thinking PR’s used to be able to charm their way in – not to mention from a personal point of view, the satisfaction it give to see our clients on screen. I’ll watch with interest and wait for the backlash – something tells me programme makers might get tired of the same old faces and we’ll be ready!