Product placement in DVDs

The HD DVD discs issued by Universal, Paramount and Warner Brothers and the rival Blu-ray format by Disney, Fox and other studios, have about six times as much data capacity as standard DVDs. This extra space gives the studios room for not only high-definition video and enhanced audio, but also a bevy of interactive features, including games, picture-in-picture commentaries and Web links.

This opens up as well a new source of revenue for the studios: Product placement.

It had once been that if a product did not fit into the script, such as star drinking brand a soda or driving a specific car, then the product could not be used for product placement advertising. However, the new forms of CD allow for additional features, such as the "Progressive Direct: Insurance Damage Estimates" calculator. A

At least initially, turning the extra capacity into cash will be difficult. Since viewers must choose to turn the calculator on, the number who actually see it could be small.

While these kinds of experiments may take time to bear financial fruit, studios and advertisers said they believed they had to find new ways to reach consumers in an age when the entertainment audience was increasingly fragmented. In return for having its name plastered on the crash calculator, Progressive created a Web site, www.progressivefastandfurious.com, and developed contests to promote the movie and the disc.

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