[Archive 2008-09-21] Accidental email brings product placement agency under fire

Historical archive — originally published 2008-09-21. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

An email accidentally sent to Jeff Crouse of the Anti-Advertising Agency recently brought the controversial techniques of the advertising firm Kluger Agency under fire.

Kluger Agency is known for advertising brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, Mercedes-Benz, and Nike by inserting the brand names in the songs of popular artists like Mariah Carey, Black Eyed Peas, Fall Out Boy, Pink, Lady GaGa and Ludacris. Kluger, founded in 2006, represents over 170 corporations and focuses on well-known record labels.

However, the agency's website shows video examples of its product placement, with brand images and names often being repeated, pointed at, praised, or being the basis of the song. The website also advertises that "a successful 'brand-dropping' campaign will imprint [the] brand name and product into your market's subconscious".

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