For a lot of companies, it is no longer enough to promote their new technologies during the commercial breaks of television shows but they actually get them in the shows themselves. Apple has done a great job so far, getting his iPhones, iMacs and iPods into shows. But the last few months, we have been seeing a lot of Microsoft’s new tablet, the Surface.
Product placement is “an advertising technique used by companies to subtly promote their products through a non-traditional advertising technique, usually through appearances in film, television, or other media” (www.businessdictionary).

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Suburgatory and Hawaii Five-O                                              

In fact, Microsoft Surface has been seen in a lot of television shows in the U.S. lately. It was spotted in November 2012 in Suburgatory, then in 90210, NCIS Los Angeles, Hawaii Five-O and more recently even in Grey’s Anatomy.

In Suburgatory, an ABC sitcom, the main character Tessa can’t separate herself from her new tablet. She adores it and can’t let it go. Even if she doesn’t identify it, it obviously is the Microsoft Surface. This episode aired the 28th of November, one month before the tablet went on sale in the U.S. (video: Microsoft Surface gets major product placement).
Product placement is a marketing technique which has been used for a long time by now, but with the increase of the DVR (digital video recorder), and the possibility to fast-forward commercials, product placement is getting more and more common.
So, in other words, you’re in some way stuck watching the “commercial” anyway.