Media: All About ... Product placement legislation.(EU broadcast legislation)

The EU looks set to legitimise this furtive practice, Alasdair Reid writes.

The BBC has come a long way since the mid-60s, when it banned the original version of a Kinks hit for rhyming 'Lola' with 'Coca-Cola'. Blue Peter may still be constructing all manner of modern miracles out of generic 'cereal packets' and 'washing-up liquid bottles' but the Beeb's adult television output has become a brand-rich environment.

A recent investigation by The Sunday Times into the BBC's penchant for product placement succeeded in drawing attention not only to the extent of BBC involvement but also to the rather furtive nature of this whole business.

Because, of course, it is still illegal in the UK to pay a programme producer or broadcaster to feature your product. Ask Richard and Judy, whose Channel 4 show was fined pounds 5,000 for featuring too much Red Bull in a feature about the benefits of caffeine.

But perhaps change is on the way. Last week, European Union legislators gave the clearest indication yet that amendments to EU broadcast legislation, which is currently being redrafted, would take a more liberal line on the whole question of product placement.

1. Currently, the EU's Broadcasting Without Frontiers Directive (a framework that also determines UK media law) states that branded products such as Red Bull (the market-leading high-energy caffeine drink) cannot be placed in television programmes in exchange for a fee or service.

2. Last week, however, Viviane Reding, the European Union media commissioner acknowledged that product placement had become a fact of life. The issue now, she continued, was not to introduce more Draconian laws but to develop strict yet workable rules governing the practice.