Though advertising still brings the lion's share of network revenues, product placement is a growing field. Just witness the countless paid Doritos and Visa plugs in any given "Survivor" episode. Lauding the potential of the industry, the Entertainment Resources & Marketing Association Web site points to James Bond's switch from an Aston Martin to a BMW Z3 roadster in 1996. BMW reportedly paid $3 million to put 007 in one of its cars. Industry sources estimate that placement sold $240 million in cars in advance sales alone.

"The greatest home run in product placement since E.T. scarfed up a pack of Reese's Pieces came with BMW's launch of its Z3 roadster last fall," the ERMA site reads. "When the car became James Bond's preferred ride in the 1996 flick GoldenEye, the hype and glitter surrounding this placement became an event unto itself, generating hundreds of millions of dollars worth of exposure worldwide."

May -- the man who put Popeye's chicken in front of Adam Sandler in "Little Nicky" and a cup of Coffee Beanery coffee in Julia Roberts' hand in that "Erin Brockovich" poster -- says that unlike most product placement agencies, his doesn't pay to have his products placed in a scene. Instead, he offers his agency as a de facto prop house for set prop masters.

May didn't offer cash, for example, to have a guitar from one of his clients -- Samick -- placed in the new "Josie and the Pussycats" movie; he gave the studio something even more valuable. "Gibson [guitars] wanted to pay them to be in this movie. But my company offered to promote the movie in the 40,000 venues they do business -- guitar stores, department stores. Now everywhere their guitars are sold, they'll promote the movie. That was more important to the studio than the money Gibson was willing to offer."

As for the ethical implications of these arrangements, May maintains that there's a clear line between corporate clients influencing news, for example, and entertainment. May says that he even once suggested a scene to the "Drew Carey Show" using one of his clients -- Aqua Java caffeinated water.

But critics have long charged that product placement is ruining television and movies. In a 1990 Atlantic Monthly article titled "Hollywood: The Ad," media watcher Mark Crispin Miller said that the influx of product placement in movies has made a night at the cinema "about as memorable as going to the airport."

"Well, if that's what you think then it's just going to get worse," May says. "In my eyes, it's going to get better. Just look at the movie 'Toy Story,' for example. After that movie, Etch A Sketch sales increased 4,500 percent. Mr. Potato Head sales, 800 percent. Slinky was out of business for 10 years. But after 20,000 phone calls from distributors and toy stores, they went back in business. They've sold $27 million since. That's a win-win-win for everybody."

But May says until the technology improves, we can expect more clumsy efforts by companies like Polo and Visa. "The 'Survivor' thing, that's a little irritating," he says. "I wouldn't let my clients go to that level. That's pushing yourself on them. And the 'Will and Grace' thing sounds a little tacky."

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