“In 2004, the value of television product placements (a product or brand name inserted for marketing purposes into entertainment fare) increased by 46.4 per cent over the year before, to $1.88 billion, according to the research firm PQ Media. For the networks and producers raking it in, that’s quite a haul. Meanwhile, the audience is at the receiving end of a sales drive neatly tucked into the story line, whether it’s for the Buick touted by sexy Gabrielle on ABC’s Desperate Housewives or the Campbell’s Soup served up on NBC’s American Dreams.”