I Just Learned Why TV Shows And Movies Blur Out Brands, And It Actually Makes A Lot Of Sense

We’ve recently written at HuffPost UK about the fact that yep, pop songs really have gotten shorter. 

We’ve also shared why movies are so dark now, as well as why even popular TV shows get cancelled.

But if you’ve ever watched a film or series that contains a brand, you might have another question ― how come they blur out the branding? 

It depends 

You may already know (from the recurring “other brands are available” joke BBC panel show hosts love to make) that the government-funded Beeb can’t promote one product or brand. 

“We need to be able to reflect the real world and this will involve referring to commercial products, organisations and services in our output. However, we must avoid any undue prominence of products or services,” BBC guidelines read.

But what about non-state-owned channels and movies? 

Well apparently, avoiding showing named brands on-screen is so common it has a name ― product displacement.

Part of the reason why it happens is because brands can be very litigious. And according to TVTropes, some studios took it so seriously that they’d have crew physically cover branding with tape or paper. 

TV and film prop master Scott Reeder shared on his YouTube channel that “they originally called [this process] ‘Greeking’ because once you took a marker and obscured the letters enough, it looked like letters of the Greek alphabet.” 

He even showed a “Greeking book” filled with labels and stickers.

Nowadays, however, brands are more likely to be blurred in post-production than manually covered in real life. 

What would brands even sue for? 

If you think brands see all publicity as good publicity, you’re wrong ― as multiple networks have learned at their extensive cost. 

Belleville News writes that Emerson Electronics filed a lawsuit against NBC a character in their show Heroes mangled her hand in their product on-screen. 

Apple reportedly even has rules to ensure only good guys ― never villains ― are seen using their products in TV and movies.

“Apple, they let you use iPhones in movies, but – and this is very pivotal – if you’re ever watching a mystery movie, bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera,” director Rian Johnson told Vanity Fair.

On top of that, brands may require licensing fees to show their likeness on-screen.

And THEN, there’s the fact that giving away free advertising to certain companies doesn’t exactly make paid advertising an appealing prospect to some brands. 

With all that said, a little bit of masking tape or ink ― or even just a well-placed blur ― seems well worth the time and money, right?