Is it right that companies advertise to us covertly through product placement etc? l want your opinion and why you think that.

companies seem to do what they want whether they should or not

Well if they did covert advertising we would never even know it existed.. right? ;-)

l think product placement is fine. But by definition it is not an advertisement because it does not persuade u to purchase the product or invoke a purchase response.

---o
Marketing Dictionary: advertising

Paid form of a nonpersonal message communicated through the various media by industry, business firms, nonprofit organizations, or individuals. Advertising is persuasive & informational & is designed to influence the purchasing behavior and/or thought patterns of the audience. Advertising is a marketing tool & may be used in combination with other marketing tools, such as sales promotions, personal selling tactics, or publicity.

---o

So by definition there is no such thing as covert advertising. Product placement is more of a tool used to enforce the brand of the product to the consumer. Having a consumer able to recall ur product from a brand image is VERY important to businesses & product placement is one way to reinforce that.

Removing the ability for product placement would destroy the very idea of branding a product which companies have spent billions to place in their consumer is minds.

Yes, why should not they be? Sometimes this is the most effective form of advertising. Subtle but effective. It is smart if you ask me.