I have not used produced / consumed tags myself so I cannot tell you the pros / cons of using them as compared to using a message. I would guess that produced / consumed tags would be beneficial if you have mutiple (3 or 4) controllers that need to share a few data points. Where messaging might be the way to go if you only need to share data between two controllers or if you want to share large amounts of data between controllers.
Was the manual helpful for you at all?
I would be aware of the connection requirements for each produced / consumed tag, depending on you network type (Ethernet, ControlNet, etc.), communications modules, and how many devices are on the network.
Maybe someone with experience using produced / consumed tags can offer some more advice.