The PR industry is gearing up to a new addition to the marketing mix with the news that ministers are set to relax the rules on product placement in programmes made by UK commercial TV stations.
The government U-turn will be a welcome shot in the arm for struggling independent broadcasters, especially ITV, hit hard by declining advertising revenues brought on by competition from the internet and the recession.
The move will allow advertisers to pay British programme producers to feature US-style brand placements for the first time, although the BBC will continue to come under the current restrictions.
Critics have branded the proposals as the death of honest TV, concerned that programme making will increasingly come under the influence of the marketing department at the expense of the viewer experience.
Yet product placement is nothing new to British viewers, who are already familiar with shows imported from America that are peppered with strategic placements of brands such as Coca Cola, Apple Mac, FedEx and McDonald's.
The PR industry is broadly welcoming the news, drawing parallels with how public relations output does far more to enrich the news agenda than undermine it.
And agencies are already putting on their thinking caps as they seek to exploit more ways to get TV exposure for their clients' brands.
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