In case you missed the Nov. 15 episode of 30 Rock, here's a re-enactment.

Jack: "These Verizon Wireless phones are just so popular. I accidentally grabbed one belonging to an acquaintance."

Liz: "Well, sure, that Verizon Wireless service is just unbeatable. If I saw a phone like that on TV, I would be like, 'Where is my nearest retailer so I can get one?' (Liz looks at camera) Can we have our money now?"

Yes, yes you can. Verizon Wireless paid NBC an integration fee, as well as giving them marketing support (a co-branded ad in Maxim and promotional content on Verizon's website), for the above scene, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Guess that proves product placement pays, even if you're being all "meta" and making fun of it.

We would like to clarify that neither of the parties involved in this transaction have attempted to renumerate Dose.ca for the repetition of their marketing messages.

Product placement is hardly a new phenomenon for TV – or even for 30 Rock (The Snapple episode, anyone? Uh, I mean, the "Jack-tor" episode). If anything, they're one of the most tasteful examples. 30 Rock has appeared on Nielsen's Top 10 shows with product placement only once since its current season began. In comparison, The Office made the list four of its first five weeks this fall, says the Hollywood Reporter. Reality TV typically fills all the top spots. According to a list compiled by Nielsen this October, in the first half of 2007, American Idol did the most in-show shilling of any other program, with 4,349 product pushes. The remaining nine programs on the list also fell into the reality genre.

And with the introduction of digital video recorders, such as TiVo (which will be launched in Canada early this December), it's likely advertisers will continue to worm their way into programming. According to a 2007 Piper Jaffray study, approximately 90 per cent of people who use DVRs skip ads. Very few of those polled fast-forwarded through season cliffhangers if the actors were holding iPods or talking about how awesomely delicious Mountain Dew is. And according to Nielsen, those in-show promos make a better impression on audiences; 60 per cent of viewers, they say, respond more positively to products used in shows.

So far this season, the Hollywood Reporter says there have been 142 product placements on 30 Rock and 381 on The Office – but NBC says it has always included these promos to up the funny, and Office showrunner Greg Daniels has said his show will no longer do these deals because he "found it pretty impossible to balance the desires of the ad agencies and their clients with the needs of the show."

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