JOURNAL OF MARKETING DEVELOPMENT AND COMPETITIVENESS
Negative Product Placement: An Evolving Theory of Product
Disparagement and Unfair Competition
Author(s): Martin Nunlee, Denise Smith, Michael A. Katz
Citation: Martin Nunlee, Denise Smith, Michael A. Katz, (2012) "Negative Product Placement: An Evolving Theory of Product Disparagement and Unfair Competition" Vol. 6, Iss. 2, pp. 11 - 27
Article Type: Research paper
Publisher: North American Business Press
Abstract:
Product placement is an alternative strategy of marketing communications for firms wishing to inform, remind and pursue consumers concerning product offerings. Many consumers view advertising with suspicion. In an attempt to overcome this suspicion and communicate to consumers, firms have increasingly resorted to product placement to overcome resistance to traditional commercial communication. While many researchers have examined marketing communication in terms of hype and puffery, few have examined negative product placement using the legal and ethical frameworks of disparagement, unfair competition, and trademark tarnishment. This paper examines the practice of attempting to influence consumers’ perception toward competitors’ products through the use of product placement and examines the ethical and legal ramifications of such practices.