Micky D's Partnership with FOX: News-vertisement?

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
by Meg White

McDonald's has tie-in deals with everyone from Disney to the Olympics. But when your local newscaster starts humming the "I'm lovin' it" song, it might be time to question whether things have gotten out of hand.

With ad revenues falling, partly due to TiVo users recording programs and skipping through commercial breaks, Madison Avenue has recently shifted its emphasis to product placement within programming. A recent partnership between several FOX affiliates and McDonald's is getting a lot of attention.

We're not talking about Carrie Bradshaw's Apple laptop or Simon Cowell's Coke. McDonald's, ever the innovator, is taking things a step further. Their product is prominently placed on the desk of local news anchors in Las Vegas.

For weeks, the same two McDonald's Iced Coffee cups have graced the bottom third of the screen on the FOX affiliate KVVU's morning news/lifestyle show. The anchors don't touch the cups, a good idea since they're fake.

According to the Las Vegas Sun, the station promises to remove the cups should a negative news story break concerning the fast food giant. Whether such a move would be made in order to foster independent reporting or to mitigate potential embarrassment of the ad execs at KVVU is unclear.

However, what happens in Vegas doesn't necessarily stay in Vegas: Micky D's product placements may be coming to your local newscast. KVVU owner Meredith Corp owns a dozen broadcast stations. So watch out Georgia, Missouri, Oregon, Connecticut, Tennessee, Michigan, Arizona, Massachusetts, and both Carolinas.

Some Meredith-owned stations have already struck similar deals. McDonald's also has deals with the FOX affiliate in Seattle, a FOX owned and operated station in Chicago, and Univision in New York City.

There's nothing illegal about such deals, but the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could still weigh in.

In 2005, the FCC reminded broadcasters of disclosure requirements when using video releases that come from corporations. The FCC opened an inquiry this June into product placements on entertainment programming, but there are indications that the agency could broaden the scope to look at television news.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

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