They Said "Fill It from the Bottom," Then Gulped the Drink... PPL in the Current Affairs Program Crosses the Line Eventually

Announcer Personally Tastes PPL Beverage
"I've Never Seen Such a Serious Violation on Terrestrial Broadcasting"

A terrestrial current affairs and culture program that excessively advertised products through announcers directly demonstrating product placement (PPL) has received a severe sanction from the Korea Communications Standards Commission.

On the 28th, the Commission held a full meeting at the Broadcasting Hall in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, and decided to issue a legal sanction of a "warning" for SBS TV’s ‘Morning Wide Part 3’ broadcasts on June 7, 12, 13, and July 6, 11 of last year.

June 7, 2023, SBS 'Morning Wide Part 3'. [Image source=SBS broadcast screen]

The program excessively highlighted a specific beverage as a PPL product and even showed male and female announcers drinking the beverage, disrupting the viewing flow, which led to complaints.

In the broadcast, the male announcer said, “Shall we fill up from the inside today?” and then prepared the PPL beverage. Afterwards, the female announcer said, “Morning Wide is with you on your day when both body and mind gain strength,” and a scene was staged where the two tasted the drink together.

In their statement, SBS apologized, saying, “This was our first PPL in a culture program outside of entertainment and drama, so we focused on the format. There were excessive demands from the advertiser, and we were also greedy thinking that indirect advertising would be fully invested in production costs and could help with outsourced production expenses.”

However, the commissioners pointed out that the broadcast seriously violated advertising regulations. Commissioner Kim Jeong-su said, “This is not a terrestrial program but at the level of home shopping,” adding, “It was immediately after the commercial break, and the following item was not even a health product.” Chairperson Ryu Hee-rim also criticized, “Although broadcasters face difficulties in management and may be tempted by indirect advertising, this is the first time I have seen such a serious violation of regulations on terrestrial TV.”

Meanwhile, the Commission’s decisions are categorized as ‘No Problem,’ administrative guidance stages of ‘Suggestion’ and ‘Recommendation,’ and legal sanctions including ‘Caution,’ ‘Warning,’ ‘Program Correction/Modification/Suspension or Personnel Sanctions,’ and ‘Fines.’ Legal sanctions are applied as deduction factors during broadcaster license renewals and approvals.