According to a Reuter’s report, U.S. regulators are getting closer to adopting stricter rules on the growing use of product placements by television advertisers.

 

On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC (News - Alert)) voted to consider new regulations requiring that viewers are more clearly notified when television advertisers have paid to feature products ranging from soft drinks to cars in television programs.

 

Regulators believe that under all circumstances consumers should be able to understand when products are being advertised to them, according to Reuters (News - Alert).

 

Currently, rules require broadcast programs to carry notifications, but the FCC is deciding whether to require those notices to be bigger and longer, and whether they should be posted at the beginning or end of a program.

 

Also being considered is whether the embedded advertising rules should also be followed by cable operators, and if they should appear in children's programming or be banned by the FCC.

 

The agency said it believes product placement ads in children's programming already conflict with current FCC advertising restrictions. However, FCC questions if a more explicit, outright ban is needed.

 

The embedded advertisements issue has caused increasing concern in recent years among consumer groups and some lawmakers in Congress.

 

With the rise of TiVo (News - Alert) and other digital video recorders, programmers are turning to embedded advertising so viewers can’t skip over them like they do traditional ads.

 

In a letter dated June 19, 2008, a group of 23 consumer and health advocacy groups wrote to the FCC urging them to tighten the rules on the embedded ads, as well as a related tactic known as "product integration" which weaves product promotions into the script of a TV program.

 

The advocacy groups, including Public Citizen and the Parents Television Council, cited industry estimates of a 13 percent increase in the number of product placements in prime time network television in 2007.