Writers Guild Resists Advertainment

From The New York Times:

A Hollywood union is stepping up its campaign against the embedding of brands and products in entertainment and, as they say in the movies, this time it’s personal
The Writers Guild of America, West, is making fun of the interweaving of sponsors’ wares into films and TV shows with a so-called viral video that is scheduled to appear this week on a union-sponsored Web site. The video mocks Tyra Banks, the host of the popular reality series “America’s Next Top Model,” which features in its episodes the Cover Girl brand of cosmetics sold by the Procter & Gamble Company.
“We’re trying to make a mark by calling attention to some of the companies doing this branded entertainment by counterbranding their products,” Mr. Verrone said. Procter was chosen to be parodied, he added, because it is “America’s top integrator” of products into programming.
A spokeswoman for Procter in Cincinnati, Robyn Schroeder, said, “We believe the issue is not the responsibility of one company, but should be addressed by the entire industry as a whole to try to meet the needs of all parties involved.”