December 21st, 2008
Montel’s Back, and Does He Have a Deal for You
By Stephanie Clifford
The New York Times
After almost an hour of discussing the problem of depression, Mr. Williams presented the guests with the answer to their problems: a set of books he had written. In other episodes, he suggested solving various issues by buying a debt-relief kit, a rotisserie grill or a blender. For this was not a television show. It was an infomercial, “Living Well With Montel,” and Mr. Williams is being paid depending on how well the products sell.
In an interview, Mr. Williams said combining a talk-show format with sales was a logical extension of product placement, in which advertisers pay producers or networks to feature their merchandise, like a Coca-Cola cup seen on Fox’s “American Idol.” It is meant to advertise products subtly, even if viewers skip traditional commercials.
The blurring of lines between television advertising and television entertainment has concerned advocates like Robert Weissman, the managing director of Commercial Alert, a Washington group that has lobbied for stricter regulation of product placement.
“One issue is the deception issue, and whether viewers sufficiently understand that they’re watching an advertisement, even if it’s an entertaining advertisement,” Mr. Weissman said.