British Comedy Guide

Mighty Boosh in possible product placement scandal

Thursday 26th June 2008, 11:06am

Private Eye has accused the BBC of breaking its rules and including product placement in an episode of The Mighty Boosh.

The satirical publication, edited by Have I Got News for You team captain Ian Hislop, writes: "BBC rules state that branded products should only be used if 'clearly editorially justified'. However, in one episode from the series shown last year there is a clear appearance of a Polycom conference phone."

The phone in question, which appeared in the episode entitled 'The Strange Tale of the Crack Fox', does not appear to fit the 'clearly editorially justified' guidelines. It was not used or even referred to in the entire episode, but is still in clear view, as can be seen in the video clip linked to below. According to Private Eye, a BBC spokesman has refused to admit that the BBC has broken the rules.

It should be noted the conference phone could well have been included innocently due to its space-age look. However, at the time of writing Brand Exposure, a company the specialises in product placement, is showing the clip on their website - which may be why Private Eye is claiming that someone has brokered a product placement deal.

9th July 2008 Update

Private Eye have put forward a request to the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act. The magazine claims that, "When asked about product placement, the BBC always claims it has an audit trail that ensures it uses a variety of props. According to a spokesman, there is a 'substantive record' and 'you can track every product that's used in all the shows'."

When Private Eye asked the BBC how many invoices they received from 'preferred suppliers' (i.e. product placement companies) since new rules were introduced 2005 in which props had to brought via central management for at least £1, the broadcaster claimed to have only 13.

The spokesman said: "Invoices are just one element of a very complex system of procuring props."

Private Eye added: "In fact the paper trails demanded by the BBC bosses are apparently optional; and even where the paperwork does exist, the corporation can't find it. So much for 'tracking every product'."

Since our inital story above, Brand Exposure have removed the Mighty Boosh clips from their website.

Note: The claims above have been made by Private Eye. The BSG is making no assumptions as to whether or not they are true.

Share this page