NBC Wants You to Do Good. Why? A Look Inside 'Behavior Placement'

The combination of NBC's ratings woes over the past decade, the steady rise of DVRs, Tivos and other commercial-bypassing machines and the general decline of the U.S. economy in recent years has led NBC to try new initiatives in an effort to lure advertisers. In today's age, buying ads may not be the sole route to get your product's message across.

"All the networks are doing things now that they never would have done 10 or 15 years ago when they were kings of the castle," says Brian Steinberg, Television Editor at Advertising Age. "They're allowing more intrusive placements and deeper connections with advertisers. We're at a point now where it's getting more egregious because the networks are economically flailing about for some new model."

With NBC already planning more green story lines and an upcoming week in June during which certain shows will emphasize healthy eating and exercise, the bigger question is not so much, "Is this good for advertisers?" but rather, "Will this actually do anything?"


"It's a totally lame approach in terms of a network or medium assuming that every viewer is a moron and that we're not going to get it," says Dr. Mary-Lou Galician, author of 'Handbook of Product Placement in the Mass Media' and head of Media Analysis & Criticism at Arizona State University. Galician points to a huge difference between a nerdy character like '30 Rock's' Liz Lemon or 'The Office's' Dwight Schrute recycling and the spike in library cards obtained after Henry Winkler's Fonz snagged one on 'Happy Days.'


The idea of affecting behavioral change through television is older than you think. In 1989, a decade after the Fonz, Dr. Jay Winsten, Director of the Harvard Alcohol Project, met with writers and producers of such shows as 'L.A. Law,' 'Cheers' and 'The Cosby Show,' asking them to incorporate a new program in the United States: the designated driver. As legendary television writer/producer Norman Lear points out: "Over 160 prime time episodes include[d] subplots, scenes or dialogue telling viewers it's okay to party as long as someone stays sober for the drive home. One year later, a Gallup poll finds 67% of adults surveyed recognize the term 'designated driver.' In 1991, Winsten's new idea [became] a listing in Webster's College Dictionary."

More recently, groups like the Alliance for Family Entertainment, an organization of national advertisers that attempts to increase family-friendly programming, have been instrumental in initiating and promoting programs such as 'Gilmore Girls,' 'Everybody Hates Chris' and 'Friday Night Lights'.

Though most of us are loath to admit it, product placement can have very real and tangible effects on our buying decisions. Would "behavior placement" work in a similar way? Doubtful. As Galician points out, "It's incredibly easy to get people to throw a cigarette in their mouth, but it's incredibly hard to get it out of their mouth once they're addicted."

Translation: For most people, getting that cupcake at Magnolia Bakery because Carrie Bradshaw goes there won't be offset by a Liz Lemon treadmill workout. And while no one can fault NBC for promoting a healthier lifestyle -- few can argue that living healthier has negative consequences -- the focus remains, as always, squarely on the bottom line. That's why ads for Pepsi and Doritos, while contradictory and hypocritical in context to the messages promoted, won't be off the air anytime soon.


Steinberg and Galician both stress the need for the viewer to be more aware of what they're watching and what messages are being transmitted to them.

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