THE broadcaster TV3 could be facing a boardroom showdown of its own if the Broadcasting Commmission of Ireland (BCI) decides that it has allowed product placement on The Apprentice, the flagship programme presented by Bill Cullen.

The BCI outlaws product placement on Irish television programmes, but an e-mail seen by The Sunday Times reveals that businesses were being asked for €5,000 in return for allowing their products to be featured in the series, which is modelled on the BBC version presented by Sir Alan Sugar.

MarketMatch, a marketing company, e-mailed public relations firms in July, the week before shooting for the TV3 series began, asking them to sponsor prizes at the end of each episode.

It said: “€5,000 includes the filming of the contestants using the prize, an introduction by the host Bill Cullen and a credit in the closing roller.”

It also offered companies the chance to pay €25,000 to sponsor a team in the final episode of The Apprentice, when two outfits will compete against each other to organise a charity event.

MarketMatch said The Apprentice, which it described as a “60-minute brand experience”, presented “multiple marketing opportunities, from task sponsor to product placement”. It added: “The audience are more susceptible to marketing messages when it is part of their favourite show. Editorial suggestion is proven to be more effective than straight-out advertising.”

Subliminal advertising and product placement, which the BCI defines as placing a product within a programme in return for payment for the purpose of promoting that product, are banned by the watchdog.

However, incidental references to products or services in a programme are legitimate if their inclusion is “editorially justified”, the BCI’s code states.

Among the companies that agreed to be included in The Apprentice was Harvey Nichols. In the first episode, the winning team enjoyed a meal cooked by the Dublin store’s First Floor restaurant, which was pleased with the results of its €5,000 investment.

“It worked — we had a lot more bookings that week and we got a lot of attention from it,” said Dee Breen, the company’s PR and marketing manager. “We don’t do television advertising but because this was part of a programme it allowed us to convey a specific message to our target audience.”

TV3 is adamant that any mention or portrayal of products in The Apprentice, produced by Screentime Shinawil, is compliant with regulations. “There is nothing untoward about this,” said Deirdre Walsh, a spokeswoman. “Every single aspect has been fully legalled.” But RTE sources say that if the BCI allows this new model of funding for the The Apprentice, it will examine whether programme makers at Montrose can use it, too.

“If the BCI says it is okay to charge for goods and services featured in programmes, without giving them undue prominence, then it raises the issue of whether RTE should follow suit,” said Peter Feeney, the station’s head of public affairs.

Larry Bass, chief executive of Screentime Shinawil which owns the Irish rights to The Apprentice and used to make the You’re a Star series for RTE, has said the company had to devise a business model new to Irish broadcasting and production to finance the show.

The company is now sourcing funds for the second series of The Apprentice, which costs “high seven figures” to make, Bass has said. He was not available to speak to The Sunday Times.

A separate source at RTE, who declined to be named, said that even if the broadcaster was allowed to receive payments in return for featuring products and services in programmes, it would have to ensure that this would not compromise shows editorially or dramatically.

“For instance, it wouldn’t be natural if all the drinks and signs in Fair City bar scenes were Guinness but it would be natural for a character to go in and ask for a Guinness,” the source said. “If every car featuring in Fair City was a Toyota, the viewers wouldn’t buy that.

“We have never sought payment to use products because you are deceiving the viewers if you place a product there for money and they don’t know about it. This could be a whole new interpretation of what product placement means. If we did it, it would need to be policed carefully.”

No BCI official was available for comment. The Apprentice on the BBC, a station not allowed to accept advertising, was criticised last year when its producers were accused of going against the spirit of BBC guidelines by allowing companies to receive thousands of pounds of free advertising.

Brands including Chrysler cars, Champneys health resorts and Pets at Home stores featured heavily in the series. Insiders at the BBC complained that the show had become a “plug fest” and demanded that the BBC Trust investigate. Ben Wiseman, a spokesman for BBC Trust, said last week that no investigation was conducted but added that “product placement is something we take very seriously”.

Although product placement is illegal in most of Europe, it is rife in films and US television shows, many of which appear on Irish television anyway.

Judges in the talent show American Idol sit in front of Coca-Cola glasses and the US version of The Apprentice has plugged Sony PlayStations, General Motors cars and Staples.

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