Sara Jessica Parker in Versace

With Sex & the City scheduled to hit theaters in a week, I can only imagine the product placements for clothes, accessories and jewelry. Case in point, during the Berlin premiere, Sarah Jessica Parker (photo left) who plays Carrie Bradshaw in the movie was wearing a Versace dress and Fred Leighton jewelry. But, if you’re thinking that only fashion houses do product placement, think again because there are some familiar names that are as far away from fashion as possible.

For those of you who watch Criminal Minds, then you are familiar with Penelope Garcia played by Kirsten Vangsness. A computer expert, Penelope Garcia has touted, in more than one episode, how good the Linux operating system is.

Ironically, Mac advertises in the show in regular commercial breaks. In the ad, there are two guys, one is a PC and one is a MAC. Of course, it is implied that the PC has a Windows operating system. Just remember, Linux runs on a PC, not on a Mac.

Right after Criminal Minds is CSI: New York. And guess who has a product placement over there – CISCO! Several times already, CISCO had been featured in the show during videoconferences. You can actually see the CISCO logo in the equipment.

Mobile phones are also featured in both shows, though their placements are subtler than both Linux and CISCO.

As a fashion photographer who shoots both runway and editorials, I get more than exposure to fashion items the whole year round. With the current trend of product placements on television, as in the now defunct Sex & the City on HBO and ‘Lipstick Jungle’ which is currently on hiatus, sometimes I think that we put too much emphasis on fashion nowadays.

Fashion has become part of the entertainment industry. Need proof? During any red carpet event, the most repeated question is ‘Who are you wearing?’ The clothes, the accessories and jewelry have celebrity status, too.

[NAPSTER]