What you do NOT want as a TV viewer, is a sponsor running crazy with overt brand logo's, in-your-face products and shilling wares/products/services everywhere. Last night during the reward challenge where celeb contestant Okkert Brits won a crate full of Pick 'n Pay food was done in severely great taste, the sponsored ''prize'' completely fit the challenge (i.e. food in a crate they can really use), the display and brand superbly got integrated seamlessly without any crass over-display into the narrative of the reality show.
TV channels, producers and show runners are usually NOT strong enough to integrate product placement as well as it happened in this way, or to push back against advertisers/sponsors once they are on board a TV show.
Pick n Pay's No Name brand, all the No Name food in a simple branded Pick n Pay crate, the way even the eating of the chips led to drama in the show and a discussion among the contestants on how they would use what ingredients, were all just a pitch perfect example of how TV product placement could work and should be done. M-Net and producer Endemol SA got it perfectly right.
