South Korean TV bans commercials so product placement becomes a $100m+ industry and Subway is one of the biggest spenders (with its product in no less than 17 shows).
The sandwich chain’s aggressive use of product placement has made it a ubiquitous presence on the country’s television shows.
In an episode of the Korean television show “The K2,” which takes place in a world of fugitives and bodyguards, a man is being treated with a defibrillator when he enters into a dream state. On the fringe of death, he recalls taking a past love to a Subway restaurant and to a park for a picnic, where he gently feeds her a sandwich and soft drink with the Subway logo facing the camera.
The detail is not a narrative quirk. It is a result of South Korea’s broadcasting regulations and the aggressive use of product placement in the country’s shows by Subway, the American sandwich chain famous for its $5 foot-longs.
