1) Compare and contrast advertainment and branded entertainment

Advertainment and branded entertainment are two forms of advertisement tactics, generally used with well-known products, that involve a merge between advertising, as traditionally known, and entertainment. Advertainment can use various and ingenious techniques, like making a product appear and highlighting its benefits through a likable character or celebrity on a TV show. This is called 'product placement' and it can be done in subtle or straightforward ways. Branded entertainment will involve building a whole concept around the amusement and enjoyable experience that a product provides. This is the case for some toys or comics that will expand their consumer reach to other mediums like movies, video games, and online media, becoming franchises where the product and entertainment are blended.

As a marketing professional, you are always aware of cues that lead to product placement. Sometimes they are evident but others are thrown in almost as subliminal messages. In the popular TV series The Big Bang Theory, the characters spend a significant amount of time eating. At the table, the way each product is placed so you can read the brand label or even learn about its features is a clear example of product placement. Sheldon Cooper, probably the main character in the show, in one episode names all the ingredients of Pringles potato chips, while his girlfriend holds a can. In this case, they combine Sheldon's eidetic memory with a good review for Pringles. Once again, Sheldon's obsessive-compulsive behavior towards cleanliness is supported by the use of the branded product Purell in an episode where he touches a snake and urgently needs to clean his hands.