Now, a Program from Your Sponsor...

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As if prime-time programming on the big 4 networks isn't hard enough to sit through, now comes word from Advertising Age that "in-show" ads may soon be the norm.

The ads would run on the top or bottom of the screen during the program. Recently, ABC reported that 29 percent of viewers remembered an ad that appeared in the center of weather graphics, rather than during a commercial break. Likewise, a series of crawl ads along the bottom of the screen during NASCAR race coverage yielded positive results.

Product placement has long been a part of contemporary movies. Might be fun if the ads matched the programming, such as Coppertone sunscreen during "Gilligan's Island" or an ad for Magellan GPS systems during "Lost." It won't be long before we're counting down the seconds before acts of terrorism on "24" courtesy of the Seiko on Jack Bauer's wrist.