
Cans of Coca Cola – Photograph by Nina Matthews
In the run-up to Christmas, advertising on UK television reaches fever pitch as companies vie for exposure on the finite amount of commercial airtime available to them. It is with great interest, then, that the UK TV regulator Ofcom is reviewing its stance on product placement during programming, as discussed in this Edelman podcast.
To help understand the impact that product placement might have on consumers and consumer attitudes, we used our Toluna QuickSurveys tool to ask our UK community members on their feelings about this contentious subject.
Our questions included:
- Has product placement on television programmes or in movies ever influenced your shopping decisions?
- How do you feel about product placement becoming more prevalent on our television screens?
- Would bought/paid for references to brands in television programmes change your attitude or feelings towards those brands?
- Do you think there is too much advertising on our television screens at the moment?
- How much of your Christmas shopping are you planning to do online this year?
Product Placement Survey: The Results
Asked if they had ever been influenced by product placement in the past (either in existing imported TV programmes or movies), over 57% of our 1000 respondents claimed that product placement had never had an effect on their shopping decisions, with only 9.6% responding that it had influenced them several times. A further 19.6% and 13.2% claimed that it had affected them infrequently or only once or twice.
When quizzed on their feelings about product placement potentially becoming more prevalent on their television screens, only 10.6% thought it was a good thing. 56.3% claimed indifference, whereas 33.1% expressed strong negative feelings.
Feelings were far more unequivocal when it came to whether bought/paid for references to brands in TV programmes affecting consumer attitudes, with an overwhelming 72.6% claiming that it wouldn’t affect their feelings at all. When the question of whether there was already too much advertising on TV screens was raised, the responses were not quite so clear cut, with 44% responding that there was far too much, and 24% responding “No”.
As we are on the cusp of Christmas, we also asked our members how much of their Christmas shopping they were planning on doing online this year. Interestingly, 21.7% replied with none, and 7.1% replied with all of it. Further to this, 27.9% replied with most of it whereas an overwhelming 43.3% stated that they would be doing at least some of it online.

Photograph by Simon McGarr
You can read the full survey results here.
What Does This Mean for Product Placement on TV?
Far from being as clear cut as may have been anticipated, these results show that product placement on UK TV will probably not be greeted with overwhelming negativity. Despite the largest single response to question one showing that product placement has never affected shopping decisions, the remaining response data shows that product placement has worked in the past for 42.4% of people at least once.
Apathy is by far the biggest reaction towards product placement, with a total of 56.3% indicating that they don’t mind it becoming more prevalent – surely a reassuring statistic for those in the advertising industry.
Indeed, despite 44% of people responding that they think there is too much advertising on screen at the moment, an increase in bought/paid for brand references in TV programmes wouldn’t change 72.6% of people’s attitudes towards that brand. Again, this shows that product placement may well be able to slip in without much fuss from the audience.
Finally, with a total of 78.3% of respondents stating that they will do at least some of their Christmas shopping online, this is surely good news for the advertisers who will now have more of a chance to influence their target audience in the comfort and convenience of their own homes.
Do you agree with our members’ responses? Ever had a particular positive or negative experience with product placement? Let us know in the comments section below.