Just in case you hadn’t noticed, or were too busy doing something important like washing your hair for the past couple of days, you may have missed that this week marks the introduction of one of the most momentous changes of our modern times.

It has been a week that one internet blogger has even gone as far as describing as ‘historic’, while another says ‘it’s the beginning of the degradation of modern society’.

It might just be me, but I’m thinking the last person is a tad prone to over-reaction.

Because the earth-shattering event I’m describing has nothing to do with the final voyage of the Space Shuttle Discovery, or the phenomenal success of former Oxford student Tom Hooper’s The Kings Speech.

No, it’s merely the introduction of product placement, or, as some people call it, ‘stealth advertising’ to our television screens. Although it rather strikes me that with all the fuss that has been made, a rethink of the word ‘stealth’ may be due.

As with most things in life, it appears people are divided on whether or not the end to the ban is good or bad.

Those on the negative side believe even the quickest glance of a brand name will influence the weaker among us to feel compelled to throw down our remote controls, jump off our comfy sofas and run to the nearest store to rack up even more money on our credit cards in order to purchase said item. I mean, come on, really?

I’d be willing to bet most of us have a bit more intelligence than that. After all, we’ve been watching movies crammed full of ‘cool, sexy’ products for years.

I’ve seen every James Bond movie and I’ve never once wanted to rush out and buy the £2,500 wristwatch our hero manages to coincidentally angle towards the camera in several fight scenes. Mind you I’ve given serious thought to picking up the £160,000 Aston Martin DBS that featured in the last movie, because I never know when I might need to outrun a machine gun toting bad guy.

I’m being facetious I know, but I’m just a little tired of the people who like to tell us we’re not smart enough to use our own brains.

I’m just as big a sucker for new gadgets and toys as anyone else.

If it’s shiny and new and looks cool, I’ll probably want one, but it doesn’t mean I’m stupid enough to rush out and buy one then and there.

I’m just more likely to add it to my ‘when I win the lottery’ list.

I do have one suggestion to calm down all the naysayers though, and that is rather than adopt the old style method of ‘stealth advertising’ that we’ve seen most American movies and shows use for decades, we should introduce our own ‘not-so stealth’ version of product placement.

I for one would love to sit down on a Sunday evening to an episode of Larkrise to Evereadybatteryford...