Product Placement in TV/Movies

  • Thread starter Thread starter buickgnx88
  • 5 comments
  • 523 views
buickgnx88

buickgnx88

That Guy Over There
Premium
Messages
5,779
United States
Anoka, MN
Okay so we've all seen product placement in various TV shows and movies. Some super obvious, others very subtle. What is your guys' (and girls :p) take on the idea of product placement?

I don't mind P.P. since it makes the "atmosphere" more realistic (even if the storyline isn't) and can allow you to relate to the characters. Of course, it can be quite blatant such as the US Bank name on the Hancock previews, or such as someone drinking a pop and having the brand facing square to the camera.

(BTW, this seemed like the correct forum to place this in...though the Opinons forum and Rumble Strip were also candidates. If someone wants to move it, go right on ahead otherwise continue!:dunce:)
 
I personally have never had a problem with it, As you said it adds to the realism because in real life there will be advertising everywhere. Yeah sometimes in films it can be slightly blatant like in irobot, men in black, minority report etc etc but I think its good. Is it me or does heavily product placement films always seem to follow Will Smith....

I found this pic that says it all really.. :sly:

i_robot.jpg


Robin.
 
That reminds me...I need more Ovaltine.
 
I need some "vintage" Converse All-Stars...
 
i_robot.jpg


:lol:

I remember that Maddox article...

Hell... it's pretty darn obvious, isn't it?

Normally, I try to ignore product placement... even such blatantly obvious ones as Nokia's (then Motorola's) Matrix spots... but some are so blatant as to make a few movies nearly unwatchable...

My big problem is, as a car buff, I notice automotive product placement in cinema and on TV more than anything else... I remember a time in the 80's when it seemed that nobody on TV drove anything but American cars. :lol:

Some notably sneaky ones:

"War of the Worlds" remake... Ford. The Mustang-guy thing is a good excuse for all the stuff in Tom's house, but the scene where the aliens pop out of the ground? Every single car on that set was a Mazda of some vintage.

"Die Another Day"... well... obviously both Jaguar and Aston Martin are owned by Ford (at least Jaguar used to be), and the Thunderbird in the pic completes the placement cycle... but throwing a Lamborghini and a Ferrari out of the back of the plane was the kicker.

Audi repaid Ford for that by wrecking a Shelby Cobra in "Iron Man" (hey, it's a Ford engine, right?). Using Ford cars as back-ups to the S5 just to exaggerate how pretty it is was also a good stab at Ford.

---

Some downright stupid ones:

-If absolutely anyone drives a Nissan Maxima or Murano in the third season of Heroes, I'm off the boat. At least someone had the decency to steal the Rogue a third of the way through season two... but the repeated references to the Versa in season one... well, they were funny at first, but then they got annoying.

-Ford... anything Ford... in any gameshow, TV show or whatever... American Idol is one of the worst... but then, AI is such a sell-out show, anyway... (yes, I actually watch it... shame on me...)

-Transformers. The whole thing.

-I, Robot, Minority Report, Hancock... ewww...
 
Back