Product Placement in Media...

BlackElantraGT · 10-28-07, 01:15

Has anyone noticed a rise in the amount of product placements we see in the media? For me, it just seems a lot more common than before. The main reason why I bring this up is because on another forum there's a thread about the new "Transformers" movie, and I feel this is a good example of product placement. While I enjoyed the movie for the most part, at the same time I felt like I watched a 2 1/2 hour long GM commercial.

Another instance that a lot of people probably won't catch are the new Dodge commercials. They show your typical American family that's about to go out for dinner or something like that. The father just got done playing the All-Pro Football 2K8 game on his computer, and then when they get in the Caravan, the sons were playing NHL 2K8. Coincidence? I think not. So even though you're watching just one commercial, in reality it's a commercial for 2 companies... Dodge and 2K Games.

If you're a "Heroes" fan, you might have noticed that Nissan was using the show to advertise the Versa, and now the Rogue. On "24", they were driving Fords but in the last season, Jack was driving the new Toyota Tundra. And what happens when these shows go to a commercial break? You see the actual commercial for the product placement. These are just a couple of examples, but there are plenty more.

In a perfect world, I wish there were disclosures for things of this nature, like on American Idol where you know that AT&T and Coca-Cola are sponsors of the show. I guess what bothers me more is the power these companies have over you, whether you like it or not. Maybe this is the future of advertising? I love TiVo/PVR for the simple fact that you can fast-forward through commercials, so maybe this is the direct result of that?

It makes me wonder how far away we are from the invasiveness of these companies and their advertisements like what was featured in the movie "Minority Report". Of course, that movie had product placements in it too LOL. I guess we're never going to win!

Bunky · 10-28-07, 05:50

You just noticed? It has been pervasive for many years on radio, tv, movies, etc. Star Wars was not just a movie.

jsatek · 10-28-07, 06:56

People make MILLIONS of dollars selling and coordinating the placements.
My wife recently resigned from the largest Brand Licensing / Product Placement company in the world. You would not BELIEVE the celebeity / product penetration these companies develop. Its mind blowing.

paradigm · 10-28-07, 07:30

Quote:

I guess what bothers me more is the power these companies have over you, whether you like it or not

what power do they have over me? a quick press of the "skip" button on my DVR and there are no commercials...

as far as product placement, it's all about $$$...but i don't care what i see someone else using, eating, buying in a movie.

.02

todd@bsaw · 10-28-07, 08:20

Don't you remember the Austin Powers movies? It was totally spoofing on how common product placement is in movies... and that was years ago. Sure, I think it is a direct result from DVR, but it has also been going on since the 1950s.

BigLeegr · 10-28-07, 09:17

You mean Kellogg's isn't "The Greatest Name in Cereals?"

(1950's commercial reference for those a bit too young to know.

)

Mikeyc · 10-28-07, 09:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by todd@bsaw

I think it is a direct result from DVR, but it has also been going on since the 1950s.

The DVR has definitely forced companies to find other ways/places to advertise. Replays during the World Series have been sponsored by Transformers. So, every time they show a replay the word Transformers flies across the screen. Since when do we need a sponsor for replays?

Product placement has been going on though practically since the invention of video media. It's just becoming more prevalent now as people can ignore traditional commercials by fast forwarding through them.

Product placement doesn't really bug me. What REALLY bugs me is when you go to the movies and you have to sit through advertisements.

BlackElantraGT · 10-28-07, 12:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunky

You just noticed? It has been pervasive for many years on radio, tv, movies, etc. Star Wars was not just a movie.

I'm not saying this is all of a sudden something new. I'm just noticing it a LOT more within recent years. Who knows, maybe the number of product placements haven't gone up and it's only because now I'm an adult and can see through these things. IMO though, I really do think the advertisers are getting smarter and finding clever ways to get to you if the traditional advertising methods aren't working, especially when we can fast forward through their commercials now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paradigm

what power do they have over me? a quick press of the "skip" button on my DVR and there are no commercials...

as far as product placement, it's all about $$$...but i don't care what i see someone else using, eating, buying in a movie.

.02

I'm not really referring to traditional commercials. I'm talking about the subtle product placements where you wouldn't even realize it was an advertisement. But let's talk about regular commercials then. Why is it that there's no "Skip Commercials" button on TiVo/PVR/DVR? Instead we are forced to fast-forward through it, or skip 30 secs at a time. Do you realize that there's software and hardware with this feature that allows you to automatically skip commercials, but the powers that be would never allow such a thing, at least not until they find another way to effectively advertise to you without the use of commercials.

You, as an adult, might not care and can easily see through these product placements but what about younger kids and teenagers who are more impressionable than adults?

littlemissGTO · 10-28-07, 01:36

The best at product placement was the Soprano's. From art to cars they had all of their bases covered.

Dailyshine · 10-28-07, 05:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackElantraGT

...but what about younger kids and teenagers who are more impressionable than adults?

And this is the population segment that they are going for.

I know in video games, this has been more prevalent. You see billboards with movies, cars, sometimes full blown commercials for products. Some will say that it just ads to the realism and it's "cool". Yet, if these companies are paying for product placement, it'd be nice if that's reflected on the retail price.

It's always funny seeing how some of these younger kids can't see how much big companies are sucking their wallets dry and say there's nothing they could do about it, or worse, they know that they're being nickeled and dime'd and still don't care. Ah, to have disposable income again...

On a similar subject, I wish people spoke up about those advertisements for other shows that they run on the bottom of the screen as you're watching another show. It wasn't so bad in the beginning, but they are becoming more and more intrusive. Sometimes it blocks out a good part of the show I'm watching, and the audio can be just as loud. It's like the networks decided to see how far they can go...

todd@bsaw · 10-28-07, 06:31

Didn't they digitally impose logos on the football field during one of the last Super Bowls? I know they do it in baseball (some stadiums have a blue-field behind home plate).

Did you also know that some companies pay musicians big bucks to make a 'commercial' about their products and try to pass them off as a hit song? Remember the Busta Rymes and P.Diddy hit, "Pass the Courvoisier?" Who do you think paid for the video and studio time...