Have you been watching Top Chef this season? If you have, you may have noticed how certain products keep popping up, such as Dial Nutriskin. Not surprising because they are furnishing the $125,000 grand prize for the winner, but the way the products are almost unconsciously placed around the house to get maximum exposure doesn't always leave the greatest taste in consumers' mouths.
So, what is product placement?
According to Meriam Webster, product placement "is the inclusion of a product in a television program or film as a form of paid advertisement."
Do I agree with this definition? Yes and no. There are many times where a company is well aware of their product being used in conjunction with a form of entertainment. There are other times they do not. Regardless of the definition, it is an interesting concept to understand, especially with the invention of TiVo and DVR's, where we can "cut out" commercials by fast forwarding through them. Having an advertisement almost integrated into a program can be a brilliant (or annoying) way to get your product noticed.
Though no one is 100% sure of when the first legitimate product placement took place, most believe that its beginning was in the mid-twentieth century. Whether it was panning over a brand name candy bar or a large, well-known retail store, the use of recognizable products in movie and television story lines started to become more and more prevalent, especially in the 1980's and 1990's.
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
A few of my favorite product placements can be found below. Some of these placements have been good for business, others have not. See if you can guess which ones were a success by watching the clip, then read below to see if your guess was correct.
1. Reese's Pieces in E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
Many of you have likely seen the above clip from the 1982 hit movie, E.T., prominently featuring Reese's Pieces in the storyline. Steven Spielberg originally reached out to Mars, Inc. to feature their M&M product as a luring device for the world's most famous alien. The company politely declined. Spielberg then approached Hershey's, and catapulted the relatively unknown Reese's Pieces into mainstream popularity. Sales for the candy reportedly increased by 65% after making their big screen debut. (Marich, 104-105)
2. Ray-Ban Wayfarers in Risky Business (1983)
**Please click the above link to view this video.
This clip shows quite a few spliced scenes in which Tom Cruise is seen sporting Ray-Bans. Perhaps this is because Ray-Ban signed a reported $50,000-a-year deal with Unique Product Placement in order to get their sunglasses placed throughout various movies and television programs (Select Specs, 2009.) Ray-Bans went on to appear in over 60 entertainment programs between 1983-1987; throughout 1983 (the release year of Risky Business), the company reportedly sold 360,000 pairs of Wayfarers. This was HUGE for the company, as they were rumored to potentially discontinue Wayfarers before the release of the film.
3. Reebok in Jerry Maguire (1996)
Many of you may not have known about the above "commercial" which was to be featured during the credits of the hit movie Jerry Maguire. I'm sure you do know, however, that the movie was HUGE for product placements -- over 25 brand names were featured, from Coca-Cola to Gatorade to Toshiba. Reebok was among those companies, reportedly paying Tristar $1.5 million dollars in "merchandise, advertising, promotional support and other benefits" to be featured in the movie (Elliot, 1997.) The agreement was that along with being a part of the storyline, the above "commercial" was to be run during the credits. This of course never happened and the footage ended up on the cutting room floor. Reebok sued for breach of contract, and eventually settled out of court with the studio.
There's no escaping the fact that product placements are everywhere you turn these days. So I want to know your opinion. Product placements: friend or faux?
Feel free to leave a comment for me in the area below.
Until next time,
Erin
Works Cited:
Meriam Webster DIctionary. (2010). http://www.merriam webster.com/dictionary/product+placement
James. (2009, March 9). Ray-Ban Wayfarer Sunglasses - Popularity of an Iconic Design. [Web log message.] Retrieved from http://www.selectspecs.com/blog/ray-ban-wayfarer-sunglasses-popularity-of-an-iconic-design/
Stuart, E. (1997, February 7.) Reebok's Suit Over 'Jerry Maguire' Shows Risks of Product Placements. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/07/business/reebok-s-suit-over-jerry-maguire-shows-risks-of-product-placement.html?pagewanted=1
Merron, J. (2002, July 15.) Reel Life: 'Jerry Maguire'. [Web log message.] Retrieved from: http://espn.go.com/page2/s/closer/020716.html
Marich, Robert. Marketing to Moviegoers: A Handbook of Strategies Used by Major Studio and Independents. Focal Press, 2005. 104-105. eBook.
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