{"id":72367,"date":"2016-03-25T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-25T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=72367"},"modified":"2020-08-26T11:09:40","modified_gmt":"2020-08-26T16:09:40","slug":"product-placement-in-films","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/product-placement-in-films\/","title":{"rendered":"The Evolution of Product Placement in Film"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fire up your Apple MacBook Pro, pop open an ice-cold Pepsi Cola, and learn all about the evolution of product placement in film.<\/h2>\n

Top image via Turkish Airlines<\/em><\/p>\n

It’s A Bird! It’s A Plane! Yup, It’s Definitely a Plane.\u00a0<\/strong>I’ll admit to this: I had never heard of Turkish Airlines<\/a> until Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice<\/em><\/a>. Now, as the film heads into theaters, I can’t think of anything else but<\/em> Turkish Airlines. (I wasn’t paid by Turkish Airlines to write this.)<\/p>\n

Turkish Airlines went to incredible lengths with their insanely multi-layered product placement. You can go to the Turkish Airlines website and choose both Gotham City<\/a>\u00a0and Metropolis<\/a> as destinations. Not only that, you can buy travel guides<\/a>, apply for travel insurance, and a fake work VISA.<\/p>\n

\"Product
\n<\/a>Image: Work VISA via Turkish Airlines<\/em><\/p>\n

Here’s the issue with all of this: it’s super<\/em> weird. Usually these type of viral promotions<\/strong> are handled by the studio \u2014 but in this instance, it falls under the advertiser. How did we get to this point? Let’s take a look at the evolution of product placement.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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A Brief History of Product Placement in Film<\/h3>\n

One of the earliest documented cases of product<\/strong> placement<\/strong> comes from\u00a01920’s\u00a0The Garage<\/a>,<\/em> starring Fatty Arbuckle<\/a> and Buster Keaton<\/a>. A sign for Firestone tires was on the wall of the auto shop, but Red Crown Gasoline was featured constantly on the walls and equipment.<\/p>\n

It was never officially announced if Red Crown Gasoline paid for the placement, but its constant appearance caught enough attention to cause some controversy.<\/p>\n

\"Product
\n<\/a>Images via Wikipedia<\/em><\/p>\n

The first Academy Award-winning film to feature product<\/strong> placement<\/strong>\u00a0was Wings<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>in 1927. The film featured several shots of Hershey’s<\/a> chocolate bars, as well as several scenes with actors eating the candy.<\/p>\n

\"Product
\n<\/a>Images via\u00a0Business Pundit<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This was Hershey’s first appearance on the silver screen, but it certainly wouldn’t be the company’s last. In the 1980s, Hershey made a blockbuster deal for Reese’s Pieces<\/a> to be the candy of choice for E.T. the Extra-Terrestria<\/a>l<\/a><\/em>; the candy giant paid $1,000,000<\/strong>\u00a0in tie-ins and cross-promotional advertising. The script actually called for M&M’s, but parent company Mars, Inc passed on the deal.<\/p>\n

Within two weeks of the film’s release, Reese’s Pieces sales more than doubled.<\/p>\n

\"Product
\n<\/a>Images: E.T. via Amblin Entertainment<\/a>, Reese’s Pieces via Collecting Candy<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

After the success of E.T., product<\/strong> placement<\/strong> became\u00a0big business. Corporate giants started fighting for placement in the biggest blockbusters.<\/p>\n

Exxon paid $300,000 for its name to appear in\u00a0<\/span>Days<\/a> of<\/em> Thunder<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>Pampers paid $50,000 to be featured in\u00a0Three Men and a Baby<\/em><\/a><\/span>, and Cuervo Gold spent $150,000 for placement in\u00a0Tequila Sunrise<\/em><\/a><\/span>, according to Danny Thompson, president of Creative Entertainment Services, in a 1993\u00a0<\/span>New York<\/span>\u00a0magazine interview. <\/span><\/p>\n

As for how effective the practice of product placement is, that same article quotes Joel Henrie, a partner at Motion Picture Placement, as saying: “Look what happened to Hermes scarves after\u00a0Basic Instinct<\/em><\/a><\/span>, Ray-Ban sunglasses after\u00a0Risky Business<\/em><\/a><\/span>, and suspenders after Michael Douglas wore them in\u00a0Wall Street<\/em><\/a><\/span>.” \u2014\u00a0Snopes<\/a><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Three Types of Product Placement<\/h3>\n

Traditionally there have been three main types of product placement; screen placement, script placement, and plot placement.<\/p>\n

1. Screen Placement\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Screen placement<\/strong> uses a product in the foreground or background of a shot<\/strong>. The product is not mentioned by name, but does garner some decent screen time.<\/p>\n

Director Michael Bay is a master of using screen product placement<\/strong> in his films. He currently holds the\u00a0record of featuring 55 different brands<\/a> in Transformers: Age of Extinction<\/a>,<\/em> a film already based on a product itself. In this video, you will see 50 seconds of Bud Light<\/a> products without the product being mentioned. The Beats<\/a> Pill is an example of script<\/strong> placement<\/strong>.<\/p>\n