Sitcoms

The Big Bang Theory

Recently, I watched the relatively new comedy sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, in search of finding product placement. I picked this show out of other sitcoms, because I felt it referred to technology and other types of branding throughout the show. The basic synopsis of the show is about a group of friends and neighbors that range from the intelligent scientific, geeky to the ditzy unintelligent, creating a comical atmosphere throughout the show. “The Indecision Amalgamation,” is the name of the episode that I watched and felt had a significant amount of product placement, both visually as well as verbally. Brand names appeared clearly twenty times during the episode but only twelve of them were product placement. The main focus that I found to show product placement was about the Xbox 1 and PS4. Both gaming systems were mentioned multiple times by the character, Sheldon, who was trying to decide on what system to purchase. Every time he was seen in the episode he was debating on which specifications were better for each system. However, this was not the only example of product placement that can be seen. In the beginning of the episode it can clearly be seen that Sheldon is using an Alienware computer, to play video games with a fellow roommate. The computer is clearly seen by the front of the screen for the viewer to see not once, but  multiple times in the first five minutes of the episode. Other examples of product placement that can be seen in the show were found in an electronic store when Sheldon was debating on which gaming system to buy. These examples include ,Donkey Kong, Rift, Logitech, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, Mario, Samsung, Guild wars, and NVidia on the shelves next to the Xbox 1 and PS4. These devices were stacked and viewed multiple times during this scene and were clearly on display for the viewer to see. Therefore,they can be seen as product placement because of the number of times they appeared clearly on the show. Other cases of product placement can be see not only of electronics, but of clothing brands as well. For instance, when one of the characters goes out on a date and the girl told him that his shirt looked nice. The character, instantly tells her that its a shirt from J Crew with confidence, giving the the brand a positive appearance, showing viewers that if you want to look nice for a date you should buy J Crew. Although there is no real sign that the shirt is from J Crew, its the fact that he mentions the brand that makes it another example of product placement. There were other instances throughout the episode as well that show short glimpses of a product. Such as, an iMac which appeared on the counter during one of the scenes, but I do not feel it can be considered product placement because it is off in the distance and dose not appear as in focus as the character speaking does. Looking back at all the instances where different products can be found I can say that this episode reflects product placement in a positive way.