Product Placement Attitude

What it measures

Fifteen items measure a viewer's overall attitude toward the practice of embedding branded products within TV show storylines, spanning ethical, commercial, and experiential dimensions.

Response format

Response format not stated; Likert-type

Scale items

• I hate seeing brand name products in TV shows if they are placed for commercial reasons. (r) [item may be truncated]
• I don't mind if TV producers receive compensation from manufacturers for placing brands in TV shows. [item may be truncated]
• It is highly unethical to influence a TV audience by using brand name products in TV shows. (r)
• Manufacturers are misleading the audience by disguising brands as props in TV shows. (r) [item may be truncated]
• The government should regulate the use of brand name products in TV shows. (r)
• I prefer to see real brands in TV shows rather than fake/fictitious brands.
• TV shows should use fictitious brands rather than existing brands. (r)
• The presence of brand name products in TV shows makes the program more realistic.
• I don't mind if brand name products appear in TV shows.
• The placement of brands in TV shows should be completely banned. (r)
• TV shows should only contain those brands that are essential to a program's realism.
• I don't mind seeing brand name products in TV shows as long as they are not intrusive. [item may be truncated]
• I would consider using real brands as "commercials in disguise." (r) [item may be truncated]
• TV viewers are subconsciously influenced by the brands they see in TV shows. (r)
• I often buy brands I see TV characters using or holding in TV shows.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Eight items adapted from Gupta and Gould (1997); remaining items appear original to Russell (2002). Alpha of .80 reported. Several items appear truncated in extraction—verify full wording against the original article (particularly items 1, 2, 4, 12, and 13). Items 5, 7, 10, 13, and 14 are reverse-scored.

Citation

Russell, C. A. (2002). Investigating the effectiveness of product placements in television shows: The role of modality and plot connection congruence on brand memory and attitude. Journal of Consumer Research, 29(3), 306–318.

Keywords