If anything, the product was portrayed in a negative light both times.

How the product is portrayed is irrelevant. Good or bad, it's exposure and it's advertising. The Billy Bass people paid them to put it on the screen.

My problem wasn't with the fact that they used in in the episodes. Product placement is there all the time in just about every show we watch, I accept it. My problem was that they were blatantly obvious about it. The way they held it up to the camera, and the director carefully framed it like an advert shot, and they sat there and stared at it while it did its spiel. Very blatant and bad. Nearly as blatant as the product placement gags in the Wayne's World movie (which were deliberately making fun of product placement).

I did like the bit about Tony flashing back to the red snapper talking to him from the street vendor's display. That made the whole thing work. Barely.