ABSTRACT
With product placement-the deliberate insertion of branded products into an entertainment program aimed at influencing the audience-becoming increasingly popular, research into its effectiveness is a timely topic. In this chapter, we propose that the explicit-implicit memorymodel suggested by cognitive psychologists offers a promising framework for this area of research. We begin by describing recent occurrences of product placements and what the research in this area has found. We present some of the limitations of the traditional methods of measuring product placements. We argue that the product placement literature can be greatly enhanced by considering the explicit-implicit memory framework, which provides a conceptual vocabulary to help organize empirical observations. This framework also helps formulate research hypotheses on when and how product placements will affect thought and behavior.
