It happened in an episode of Will & Grace. Leo, the character played by Harry Connick Jr., asks Grace (Debra Messing) if she knows where his Bucky neck pillow is.

Comic banter ensues, during which Grace finds out exactly what the heck a Bucky neck pillow is. So do millions of viewers.

At that point, North Vancouver businesswoman Nancie Tear lets out an ecstatic "Ka-ching," or a more dignified equivalent. So do her clients, the Seattle-based manufacturers of Bucky travel pillows. After all, they retained Tear and her company, PropStar Placements Inc., to boost the Bucky profile by "placing" their products in commercial films and popular TV series.

"In Will & Grace, you didn't exactly see the product," explains Tear, creative director of the company she co-founded five years ago.

Bayne Stanley, Business Edge
PropStar creative director Nancie Tear works to give her client's products maximum exposure on the big screen and TV.

But the multiple verbal plugs brought home the point: Characters in a cool show such as Will & Grace use Bucky pillows, so viewers will be just as cool if they use them. It's a not-so-subtle brand-recognition advertising strategy that works well for PropStar clients from Bucky and Alienware Computers of Florida to Ontario-based Mitel Networks and D-Link Routers and Switches.

PropStar customers are convinced they get value for their money. In one testimonial, a corporate executive waxes poetic about seeing Lex Luthor with an Alienware silver laptop during a Smallville episode.

And once a product gains this kind of exposure, it earns a permanent place in the life of the film or episode, repeatedly connecting with new viewers via series syndication and/or DVD rentals and sales.

"Our customers treat us like an ad company. They pay us an annual retainer and we work with them to help them achieve their marketing goals," says Tear, whose service includes protecting clients from inappropriate use of their products.

"For example, if a script is set up to include a computer malfunction ... all the advertising and branding the (computer) company has done to identify the product with great capability would be out the window," she continues.

Photo courtesy of PropStar Placements
Actor Harvey Keitel used a PropStar-placed Alienware laptop in the film Be Cool.

A media research report released last year projected that product placement would grow into a $4.24-billion industry by the end of this year. Tear readily concedes it can be a cutthroat game.

"We have strong contacts with the studios and we often scan scripts six months ahead of production," she says. "We're always pitching our clients, for days, weeks or months in anticipation of the opportunity to place them."

And occasionally, the logistics are demanding and frustrating enough to make Tear wish she could curl up and hide with her own Bucky pillow.

One recent weekend, PropStars spent frantic hours in long-distance conversation with producers of Basic Instinct II, starring Sharon Stone. They're shooting in England and ran into problems while setting up banks of high-end Mitel IP office phones, placed by PropStar.

"We weren't involved with installation and they were having trouble trying to get the phones to light up. We shipped them things, sent them diagrams and instructions to make sure our opportunity doesn't slip through the cracks," Tear says with mild exasperation.

Everybody's heard of placement contracts in which millions change hands. For example, Burger King paid seven figures to launch its new Western Angus steak burger on an episode of The Apprentice.

Tear, on the other hand, says it's part of her job to keep her clients from spending big money. Most deals she brokers are carefully negotiated contra arrangements, including the Mitel-Basic Instinct II tradeoff.

Producers of Basic Instinct II required about 40 Mitel phones (approximate wholesale cost: $900 US apiece) to lend authenticity to such sets as an FBI office and a second office belonging to a forensic investigator.

For its part, Mitel is delighted to have its product (sold only to businesses and described by Tear as "very distinctive and wildly different") shown off on the big screen. They assume they'll be noticed by corporate IP buyers.

"And there's a feel-good factor," continues Tear, who was born in Guelph, Ont., prior to honing her sales and PR chops in Toronto, London and New York. "Mitel salespeople get jazzed up when they see their phones on a series like ER. From a sales perspective, it adds a cool-factor element to the product."

At the moment, Tear is keyed up about PropStar's newest client: Hartmarx Corp., generally acknowledged as the most distinguished maker of men's suits in the U.S.

"We've just signed these guys within the last week," she says.

So if Will starts looking extra-snappy in future episodes, you'll know the reason why.

(Tom Keyser can be reached at keyser@businessedge.ca)