In an era in which it is increasingly possible to bypass commercials, product placement–or the placing of products in the narrative alongside the actors themselves–is increasingly important. Remember, this isn’t simply set decoration, but a deal between the producers and companies that is about money. Here are some examples of product placement in movies and TV shows:
Coca Cola on American Idol (found here):
Sprite (?) and Audi in Ironman (found here and here):
Oreos on Friends (found here):
Pizza Hut on Wayne’s World (found here):
And, finally, Absolute Vodka on Sex and the City (found here):
–Not safe for work–
Jon Stewart goofs on product placement at 2:30:
Comments 11
Nadav Perez — October 12, 2008
in Wayne's World, Pizza Hut is shown in an exaggerated way as part of their TV show, in an irony on product placement.
Lisa — October 12, 2008
Nadav Perez,
Sure. It's certainly ironic. And yet, the producers still had to decide whether to use Pizza Hut or, say, Dominos. And, irony or no, it still brought Pizza Hut to the mind of viewers. I imagine that Pizza Hut didn't mind.
Liz C. — October 12, 2008
Oh on Tina Fey's show "30 Rock" in some of the episodes she pokes fun of product placement by purposefully saying something into the screen and then saying: "Can I get my money now"?
Anonymous — October 12, 2008
this is an issue the Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood is working hard to fight right now:
http://commercialfreechildhood.org/
http://commercialfreechildhood.org/actions/nprm.html
Nadav Perez — October 12, 2008
Lisa - no doubt this IS product placement. but the fact that it is explicit and ironic makes it a bit different, doesn't it?
Lisa Wade, PhD — October 13, 2008
Nadav Perez,
A "bit different"? Well, sure, I wouldn't argue with that.
Dubi — October 13, 2008
damn, I can't remember where it was, but there was one movie about show biz where they mocked product placement while using a real brand, and were then SUED by the brand owner for infringing on their copyrights.
Kirsten — October 15, 2008
It's been going on for a while. The "Back to the Future" films made a running joke out of Marty's attempts to order Diet Pepsi in different time periods (and there was also "Calvin Klein"). The most blatant product placement I can remember recently was in "I, Robot", which I think also had an Audi concept car, as well as a conversation about Converse hi-top trainers.
Kirsten — October 15, 2008
Oh, and there's a list of further examples here:
http://www.theshiznit.co.uk/review.php?id=144
(I had a sudden moment of doubt as to whether Marty likes Pepsi or Coke. Which suggests this approach doesn't really work.)
Samantha — September 28, 2009
When American Idol is broadcast in the UK, the logos on the Coca Cola glasses are blurred out (which incidentally probably draws more attention to the brand than if we could see the text of the logo). I'm not sure why, as I've never noticed censorship of any other product placement here, although maybe I'm missing something obvious.
Roy88 — October 22, 2009
At any rate, it is worth asking, what is the most sensible account of wrongful discrimination, given the framework? ,