The Dana Carvey Show is notorious for the way integrating product placement into the show and 30 Rock has taken flack for the way it's sort of done the same thing.

Robert Carlock: Right.

So what sort of considerations do you and the other writers and producers make when writing jokes about sponsors?

Robert Carlock: Yeah, it's funny, yeah, I was on the Dana Carvey Show as you probably know.

Yes.

Robert Carlock: You know, we do - it's funny because the show - a lot of our jokes are - we want to write jokes a lot of times about products and - because our tone and our characters sort of - we try to make them live in the - in the sort of pop culture so much.

And, you know, to that end like a lot of times our jokes and references are just things that we want to do and are not product placement... we had sort of a thing with McDonalds last year where people just assumed it was product placement and I guess why wouldn't you in this climate but it was actually just a creative choice about two characters finding common ground...

Jack McBrayer: Loving the...

Robert Carlock: ...loving the McFlurry. Bringing together Hispanic women and Republican men since forever... So, you know, we do have the luxury as we've played a few times of when we do have legitimate product placement of really calling it out in hopes of letting the audience in on the joke and in on the fact that we're doing this to try to help the bottom line and keep the show going.

So we do - when we are doing it - really doing it we are - we try to be very careful because it can, you know, and we've drawn - we have drawn flack and some praise for it at the same time. You know, it can come off in the wrong way and so we try to play with that luxury of being in this world and talking about this world and being able to call out the joke.

Have there been any jokes about products that the network has made you guys cut?

Robert Carlock: I don't think so. I mean one of the amazing things is how great they've been about the fact that this is a show about a GE NBC show.

Jack McBrayer: That we are owned by Shineheart Universal...

Robert Carlock: The Shineheart Wig Company. I honestly can't think of one. They've been very good about it.

Jack McBrayer: Yeah.