Product placement for Corrie

UK commercial broadcaster ITV has secured the first product placement deal for its flagship soap Coronation Street.

Nationwide Building Society has installed an ATM inside the street’s local shop, while a branded swingboard has been placed outside the shop. The products may be seen by viewers in episodes airing on ITV1 from November 14.

The deal is the first of its kind for one of ITV’s primetime shows, after UK regulator Ofcom relaxed rules surrounding product placement in February. ITV previously secured a product placement deal with Nescafé, which saw one of the company’s coffee makers appear on ITV1 breakfast show This Morning.

Gary Knight, commercial content director at ITV, said: “Editorial integrity remains at the heart of what we do as we continue to talk our clients about a number of product placement opportunities, spanning a range of programmes and channels.”

The Coronation Street deal could now lead to a “wave” of similar agreements, according to Nick Price, head of content at MPG Media Contacts, which brokered the deal, after UK broadcasters have been slow to take advantage of the new rules since they came into force.