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"It's distracting," regular moviegoer Thom Shelden says of the practice in the current summer films he's seen, among them Adam Sandler's "Click," much of which is set in Bed Bath & Beyond. "They are doing it so much," he says. "It's everything, everywhere."

Sandler's Happy Madison Productions has long filled its comedies about the crassness and commercialism of modern life with overt product placement, and the fact that Sandler is both producer and star means he's clearly not being forced.

But other actors may feel strong-armed, and that's what concerns Rosenberg.

"Our members are really being given a triple whammy," he says, noting that ad dialogue can take work away from commercial actors, might be a conflict of interest for an actor who is a spokesperson for another product, and doesn't compensate the actor involved.

It's not just about money; it's also raising ethical questions.

Rosenberg predicts that product placement eventually may involve political or religious thought and worries that "when at the last minute you're given something that is anathema to you . . . you've got to have the right to say, 'Yeah, I'll do that,' or 'No.' "

Traylor Howard of the cable series "Monk," who plays the detective's assistant, notes, "We do it here. It's a pain." She cites the use of a bleach product that none of the actors wanted to be associated with, because it seemed inappropriate to character and story line. A seasoned commercial actress, she recalls she eventually said, "I'll do it. I'll figure a way to make it seem normal." Another example was a car placement that "didn't fit the script . . . but we ended up making it work. . . . But sometimes you just can't do it." She says, "Hopefully it pays the bills for the show, but I don't know. I try not to worry about it, but sometimes it's really annoying."

The companies seeking brand integration stress they are sensitive to what seems appropriate.

Volvo knew it couldn't get a car into a story that predates autos, so instead created a global multimedia treasure hunt for its sport-utility as a promotional tie-in to Disney's adventure film "Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." But many other recent movies, including "The Da Vinci Code," have featured the company's car on-screen.

Dialogue isn't demanded, but clients are happy to hear it, if it's apt.

"If it fits into the story line," says Roger Ormisher, Volvo's vice president of public affairs. "There's always the quip, you know, 'Oh, it feels as safe as a Volvo,' or something. It's fine, because it's reality. That's not cheating. But we've never in any product placement asked for a specific name check. If the director, the producer or the writer feels they can roll a joke off the back of it, that's okay."

Linda Swick, president of the North Hollywood company International Promotions, which secures "brand integration" for companies such as Volvo, Corona and Heinz, points to dialogue in films that showed up even though no such demands were made. In last year's "Four Brothers," Tyrese Gibson referred to Volvo as "one of the safest cars," and in the original "The Fast and the Furious" Vin Diesel said, "You can have any brew you want -- as long as it's a Corona."

"The audience laughed," she says, "and there you go: That's a perfect integration because whenever there's humor behind the integration there's also much more recall value. So there is a way of doing it."

Swick sees problems only if there is audience backlash to a movie coming over like one big commercial. She believes the writers and actors should have confidence that the "director is not going to do anything in his film that is going to interfere with its integrity." She adds that branding integration "may be evolving and going through many changes, but it will continue because it's life. It's life!"

For now, Rosenberg is looking for compromise on the issue: "If you consult with writers and actors, we will find a way to help you do it seamlessly so it doesn't infringe upon the art," he says. "But to just foist it upon us is wrong, and now they don't even want to compensate us for selling ourselves out like they normally do when we sell ourselves out!"