Catching up on some blog reading I found an interesting entry on the MIT Advertising Lab discussing “reverse product placement” (Link). The post references a Harvard Business Review article by David Edery (Link) which unfortunately isn’t freely available except for this quote: “Retailers are starting to place real products in virtual worlds. It’s just a matter of time before virtual products make the leap into the real world.” Now I could buy his article for $6; only thing is, I’ve been working on that very idea for years – beyond the obvious ability to move a brandname (which already has precedent in the film world). In fact, the basic premise for going beyond just tradenames is at the core of the “Smiley Face Savvy” post (reLink) I wrote over a year ago. What I discuss there goes further than what I believe others – like BrandWeek’s Todd Wasserman (link) – are imagining: that a product’s manufacturing data can be as mobile as its name (which is why I wrote “The Accomplice” – reLink).

I have to confess that lately I’ve found very little of interest being reported in the blogosphere. Bad enough I can’t find much that’s new and exciting, but to see old stuff sold at $6 a pop is depression-inducing.