Apprentice accused of product placement
HIT SHOW: Bill Cullen
Friday October 10 2008
THE Apprentice is under investigation after it heavily featured a fast food chain in its latest episode.
The TV3 show is being probed by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) for alleged product placement -- which is banned here, but allowed in the US and Britain.
While the investigation of the show -- which has been the big success story of Irish television this year -- continues, TV3 insists has done nothing wrong.
The BCI has confirmed to the Herald that it is pursuing the matter with TV3, following a complaint. However, a spokeswoman from TV3 said that the station is complying with regulations at all times.
GUIDELINES
"We have not breached any regulations," said Deirdre Walsh, head of publicity at TV3. "Everything was completely legal."
Monday night's episode saw teams battle it out to gain profit in two Supermacs stores. And sources at Ireland's fast food restaurant chain confirmed that the company paid a set amount to production company Screentime Shinawil.
"We were approached by Screentime Shinawil and we paid an amount of money, just as every other company who participated did," said a spokeswoman from Supermacs. "But we had to adhere to strict guidelines."
Supermacs' restaurants in Dublin and Galway were the scenes of two of the tasks which took place during this episode of The Apprentice.
Pat McDonagh head of Supermacs, commented that "It was a great opportunity for Supermacs to be broadcast to the nation."
- Claire Murphy
