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Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a
marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...
technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of this is done by loaning products, especially when expensive items, such as vehicles, are involved. In 2021, the agreements between brand owners and films and television programs were worth more than US$20 billion. While references to brands (real or fictional) may be voluntarily incorporated into works to maintain a feeling of realism or be a subject of commentary, product placement is the deliberate incorporation of references to a brand or product in exchange for compensation. Product placements may range from unobtrusive appearances within an environment, to prominent integration and acknowledgement of the product within the work. Common categories of products used for placements include
automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...
s and
consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are Electronics, electronic (Analogue electronics, analog or digital electronics, digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for ...
. Works produced by
vertically integrated In microeconomics, management and international political economy, vertical integration is a term that describes the arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is integrated and owned by that company. Usually each member of the suppl ...
companies (such as
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
) may use placements to promote their other divisions as a form of corporate synergy. During the 21st century, the use of product placement on television has grown, particularly to combat the wider use of digital video recorders that can skip traditional commercial breaks, as well as to
engage Engage or ''variation'', may refer to: * Engagement in preparation for marriage * Engagé, 18th-19th century engaged contract workers * Engage (organisation), a UK-based political organization * Engage (visual arts), the UK National Association ...
with younger demographics. Digital editing technology is also being used to tailor product placement to specific demographics or markets, and in some cases, add placements to works that did not originally have embedded advertising, or update existing placements.


History


Origins

Product placement began in the 19th century. By the time
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraord ...
published the adventure novel '' Around the World in Eighty Days'' (1873), his fame had led transport and shipping companies to lobby to be mentioned in the story. Whether Verne was actually paid to do so remains unknown.William Butcher (translation and introduction). ''Around the World in Eighty Days'', Oxford Worlds Classics, 1995, Introduction. Similarly, a painting by Edouard Manet (1881-1882) shows a bar at the Folies Bergère with distinctive bottles placed at either end of the counter. The beer bottle is immediately recognisable as Bass beer. Manet's motivations for including branded products in his painting are unknown; it may be that it simply added to the work's authenticity, but on the other hand the artist may have received some payment in return for its inclusion. Research reported by Jean-Marc Lehu (2007) suggests that films produced by Auguste and Louis Lumière in 1896 were made at the request of a representative of Lever Brothers in France. The films feature
Sunlight soap Sunlight is a brand of laundry soap, laundry detergent and dishwashing detergent manufactured and marketed around the world by Unilever, except in the United States and Canada, where it has been owned by Sun Products (now Henkel Corporation) ...
, which may be the first recorded instance of paid product placement in film. This led to cinema becoming one of the earliest channels used for product placement. With the arrival of photo-rich periodicals in the late 19th century, publishers found ways of lifting their paper's reputation by placing an issue of the magazine in photographs of prominent people. For example, the German magazine '' Die Woche'' in 1902 printed an article about a countess in her castle where she, in one of the photographs, holds a copy of the magazine in her hands. Product placement was a common feature of many of the earliest actualities and cinematic attractions from the first ten years of cinema history. During the next four decades, motion picture trade journal '' Harrison's Reports'' frequently cited cases of on-screen brand-name placement. Harrison condemned the practice as harmful to movie theatres, and his editorials reflected his hostility towards product placement in films. ''Harrison's Reports'' published its first denunciation of that practice over Red Crown gasoline's appearance in '' The Garage'' (1920). Another editorial criticised the collaboration between the Corona Typewriter company and First National Pictures when a Corona typewriter appeared in several films in the mid-1920s including '' The Lost World'' (1925). Recognisable brand names appeared in movies from cinema's earliest history. Before films had narrative form in the current sense, industrial concerns financed the making of what film scholar Tom Gunning described as "cinematic attractions", short films of one or two minutes. In the first decade or so of film (1895–1907) audiences attended films as "fairground attractions" interesting for their then-amazing visual effects. This format was better suited to product placement than narrative cinema. Leon Gurevitch argued that early cinematic attractions have more in common with television advertisements in the 1950s than they do with traditional films. Gurevitch suggested that as a result, the relationship between cinema and advertising is intertwined, suggesting that cinema was in part the result of advertising and the economic benefits that it provided early film makers.Gurevitch, L. (2009). "Problematic Dichotomies: Narrative and Spectacle in Film and Advertising Scholarship", ''Journal of Popular Narrative Media'', Liverpool University Press, Liverpool, Vol. 2 (2), 143-158. Segrave detailed the industries that advertised in these early films.


Movies and television


Early film

A feature film that has expectations of reaching millions of viewers attracts marketers. In many cases the film producers request no payment for product exposure when consumer brands appear in movies. Film productions need props for scenes, so each movie's '' property master'', who is responsible for gathering props for the film, contacts advertising agencies or product companies directly. In addition to items for on-screen use, the product or service supplier might provide a production with complimentary products or services. Tapping product placement channels can be particularly valuable for movies when a vintage product is required—such as a sign or bottle—that is not readily available. Although there is no definitive proof that product placement for Red Crown gasoline in ''The Garage'', Fritz Lang's ''
Dr. Mabuse the Gambler ''Dr. Mabuse the Gambler'' (german: Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler) is the first film in the Dr. Mabuse series about the character Doctor Mabuse who featured in the novels of Norbert Jacques. It was directed by Fritz Lang and released in 1922. The film ...
'' (1922) contained a prominent title card in the opening credits reading "The gowns of the female stars were designed by Vally Reinecke and made in the fashion studios of Flatow-Schädler und Mossner." Among silent films to feature product placement was '' Wings'' (1927), the first to win the
Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only categor ...
. It contained a plug for
Hershey's chocolate The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey's, is an American multinational company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milksh ...
. Fritz Lang's film '' Woman in the Moon'' (1929) shows someone drinking prominently from a glass for Odol, a populer German brand of mouthwash, and his film '' M'' (1931) shows a banner display for Wrigley's PK Chewing Gum, for approximately 20–30 seconds. Another early example occurs in '' Horse Feathers'' (1932), where Thelma Todd's character falls out of a canoe and into a river. She calls for a " life saver" and Groucho Marx tosses her a Life Savers candy. '' It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946) depicts a young boy with aspirations to be an explorer, displaying a prominent copy of '' National Geographic'' magazine. In '' Love Happy'' (1949), Harpo cavorts on a rooftop among various billboards and at one point escapes from the villains on the old
Mobil Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...
logo, the "Flying Red Horse". ''Harrison's Reports'' severely criticised this scene in its film review and in a front-page editorial. In '' Gun Crazy'' (1949), the climactic crime is the payroll robbery of the
Armour Armour (British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specificall ...
meat-packing plant, where a Bulova clock is prominently displayed.


=Later films

= The James Bond film '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967) featured the Toyota 2000GT, and the films '' Smokey and the Bandit'' (1977) and '' The Cannonball Run'' (1981) film series featured conspicuous placements. The science fiction film ''
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, d ...
'' (1982) is often cited for its multiple, obvious placements, including the candy Reese's Pieces, into the plot. In the New World Pictures dub of '' The Return of Godzilla'', ''Godzilla 1984'',
Dr Pepper Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Europe ...
was prominently placed into the new scenes shot for the dub. In a scene shot at an American military base, a vending machine is directly between two characters, and in similar scenes characters are often depicted drinking the soft drink. Cheerios and Coca-Cola were placed in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''Evita'', in '' Superman: The Movie'', and in its sequel '' Superman II''. Clark Kent eats Cheerios for breakfast in ''Smallville''. In '' Superman II''s climax, Superman crashes into a giant Coca-Cola advertisement and saves people on a bus bearing an ad for ''Evita'', before he smashes into a Marlboro delivery truck. In the 1993 film ''Demolition Man'', the fast food chain Taco Bell is integrated directly into the film's lore, depicting it as the only remaining restaurant franchise in existence by 2032. Since Taco Bell was not well known outside of the U.S., for the international release of the film it was replaced with Pizza Hut, another restaurant chain owned by Yum! Brands. Lines were re-dubbed and logos changed during post-production. In the film '' Cast Away'', Tom Hanks, the lead character, is a FedEx employee. A volleyball from Wilson Sporting Goods is also prominently featured in the film. References to the delivery company FedEx are made throughout the film, and the company is central to the plot. '' The Internship'' (2013), which features two unemployed slacker friends seeking employment at
Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
, was described by
Tom Brook Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...
of the BBC as "one huge advertisement for Google" that took "product placement to a startling new extreme". ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
'' magazine included it on a list of the 10 Egregious Product Placements in film.


Early radio and television

Over-the-air (OTA) radio and television in the United States are not funded through end user license or subscription. In US
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...
since the 1930s and
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...
since the 1950s, programs have been normally underwritten by sponsors. ''
Soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
s'' were named for the
consumer packaged goods Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), also known as consumer packaged goods (CPG), are products that are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost. Examples include non-durable household goods such as packaged foods, beverages, toiletries, cand ...
products advertised by
Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...
and
Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy ...
. When television began to grow popular, DuMont's 1950s ''
Cavalcade of Stars ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' is the name of a series of American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970, in various forms. ''Cavalcade of Stars'' Gleason's first variety series, which aired on the DuMo ...
'' show did not rely on a sole sponsor. Sponsorship continues with programs sponsored by major vendors such as Hallmark Cards. The conspicuous display of Studebaker motor vehicles in the television series '' Mister Ed'' (1961–1966), which was sponsored by the Studebaker Corporation from 1961 to 1963, as well as the display of Ford vehicles on the series '' Hazel'' (1961–1966), which was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company from 1961 to 1965, are other examples of television product placement.


Types

Placements fall into two main categories: paid and unpaid. Most product placements are unpaid. In unpaid product placements, the advertiser will usually loan or give the product to the production. The productions costs are reduced, as they would otherwise have to buy or rent the items. Subcategories are ''basic'', when a logo is merely visible, and ''advanced'', whereby the product or brand is spoken by characters in the show or movie. Barter and service deals (the branded product is provided for crew use, for instance) are common. Content providers may trade product placements for help funding advertisements tied-in with a film's release, a show's new season or other event. Still another variant, known as an ''advertisement placement'', displays an advertisement for the product (rather than the product itself) which appears in the production, such as an advertisement on a billboard or a bus that appears in the show.


Brand integration

Brand integration, a variant of product placement, is when "the product or company name becomes part of the show in such a way that it contributes to the narrative and creates an environment of brand awareness beyond that produced by advanced placement." While this type of advertising is common on unscripted shows such as '' The Apprentice'', it can also be used in scripted television. An early example was by Abercrombie & Fitch, when one of its stores provided the notional venue for part of the romantic comedy film '' Man's Favorite Sport?'' (1964). On '' All My Children'' one character took a job at Revlon. The character's job became part of the character's development. '' Jurassic Park'' not only prominently features Ford cars and other commercial products, but also includes a scene displaying its own promotional merchandise. One shot shows the "Jurassic Park Souvenir Store", with products that it offered for sale to fans.


Product displacement

A real brand logo may be hidden or replaced with fictional brand names in a production, either to imitate, satirize or differentiate the product from a real corporate brand.Robin Andersen, Jonathan Gray, ''Battleground: The Media'' (2008), p. 386. Such a device may be required where real corporations are unwilling to license their brand names for use in the fictional work, particularly where the work holds the product in a negative light. According to Danny Boyle, director of the film '' Slumdog Millionaire'' (2008), the makers used "product displacement" to accommodate sponsors such as Mercedes-Benz that refused to allow their products to be used in non-flattering settings. While Mercedes did not mind having a gangster driving their cars, they objected to their products being shown in a slum. The makers removed logos digitally in post-production, costing "tens of thousands of pounds". When such issues are brought up in advance of filming, production companies often resort to "greeking", the practice of simply covering logos with tape, but one of them driven by Latika is shown to have the logos on the car keys. Similarly, in '' The Blues Brothers'' (1980), portions of the defunct Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, Illinois, were reconstructed in façade and used as the scene of an indoor car chase. Signage belonging to mall tenants was replaced with that of other vendors; for instance, a Walgreens would become a Toys "R" Us. '' Cars'' (2006) parodies NASCAR, an advertising-heavy sport which controversially had long allowed alcohol and tobacco sponsorships. NASCAR's sponsors were replaced with fictional or parody brands; Dinoco Oil takes pride of place, followed by a string of invented automotive aftermarket products marketed in a similar means to pharmaceutical products. "Dale Earnhardt Inc." displaced "Junior #8"'s sponsor Budweiser to avoid advertising
beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cer ...
in a Disney & Pixar feature. The racing series portrayed in the film is also known as the " Piston Cup", as a pun on the NASCAR Cup Series' past sponsor of Winston cigarettes (during which time it was known as the "Winston Cup Series"; it has since been succeeded by phone carrier
Sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...
and energy drink Monster Energy).


Audio vs visual

Placements can be sound-only, visual-only or a combination of both. The Russian television show дом-2 (phonetically '' Dom-2'') (similar to ''
Big Brother Big Brother may refer to: * Big Brother (''Nineteen Eighty-Four''), a character from George Orwell's novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' ** Authoritarian personality, any omnipresent figure representing oppressive control ** Big Brother Awards, a sat ...
'') often features participants stating something along the lines of, "Oh, did you check out the new product X by company Y yet?" after which the camera zooms in on the named product, explicitly combining an audio mention with a visual image. In '' The Real World/Road Rules Challenge'' participants often make a similar comment, usually pertaining to the mobile device and carrier for a text message. An experiment from 2002 tested the relationship between auditory vs visual product placement and if the product had higher or lower connection to the plot to how well it was remembered by viewers. The results of the experiment concluded that regardless of if the product had higher or lower connection to the plot, in either circumstance an auditory product placement was more likely to be remembered by viewers than a visual product placement.


Branded content

Branded content refers to works that are funded or produced by an advertiser as a vehicle for their brand. Some forms of branded content do include self-placed product placement (such as a series of made-for-TV movies produced by
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
and
Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...
, which featured placements for P&G products and Walmart store brands), but some (such as, most prominently, the media operations of energy drink brand
Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwide, inc ...
) are focused more upon producing content that is consistent with the brand's values and demographics, rather than being a promotion for their products first and foremost.


Cross-promotion

Larger,
vertically integrated In microeconomics, management and international political economy, vertical integration is a term that describes the arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is integrated and owned by that company. Usually each member of the suppl ...
conglomerates may include placements of their own products and services in works as a form of corporate synergy. Owing to its common ownership, Sony Pictures films have featured placements of
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
's
consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are Electronics, electronic (Analogue electronics, analog or digital electronics, digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for ...
products, particularly Xperia
smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s, among other products. The James Bond films '' Skyfall'' and '' Spectre'' depict Bond using Sony Xperia T and Z5 smartphones respectively, and the Xperia T was bundled with James Bond-themed content (including ringtones, wallpapers, and behind the scenes photos from the filming of ''Skyfall'') as a tie-in in some markets. Similarly, some 20th Century Fox films depict the then co-owned Fox News Channel as a source of in-universe news programming.


Replacement

Product placements can also be added or replaced during post-production. For example, placements can be added to scenes that did not already have them when originally filmed, and placements can also be modified in future airings or prints of a film or television series.


Parodies

The
pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other dist ...
of the NBC
sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...
'' 30 Rock'' featured the
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
(at the time an 80% owner of NBC)
Trivection oven The Trivection oven is a convection microwave created by General Electric, which combines radiant heat, convection, and microwaves for customized cooking. According to GE, it cooks food five times faster than a traditional oven. Alton Brown, host o ...
, but was said to be a joke by the show's creator. The show later parodied placement. The 1988 film '' Return of the Killer Tomatoes'' mocked the concept when at one point the film stops for lack of money. The character played by George Clooney suggests product placement as a way to continue. This was followed by several scenes with blatant product placement, including a
Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...
billboard installed in front of the villain's mansion. The 1994 film '' The Making of '...And God Spoke''' is a mockumentary about the filming of a biblical epic. When running low on funds to complete the film within a film, the desperate producers resort to product placement, resulting in the absurd anachronism of Moses descending from Mount Sinai carrying the Ten Commandments and a six-pack of Coca-Cola. The film '' Fight Club'', directed by David Fincher, bit the hand that fed it by depicting acts of violence against most of the products that paid to be placed in the film. Examples include the scene where the Apple Store is broken into, the scene where Brad Pitt and Edward Norton smash the headlights of a new Volkswagen Beetle, and try to blow up a "popular coffee franchise", a thinly veiled dig at
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 ...
. The film '' Superstar'', starring Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon, shows every resident in town driving Volkswagen New Beetles, possibly for comic effect. Similarly, the film '' Mr. Deeds'' shows Adam Sandler's character purchasing a Chevrolet Corvette for every resident of his town. The 2006 Will Ferrell comedy film '' Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby'' parodied the large amount of sponsorship in NASCAR, having the title character at one point drive with a "dangerous and inconvenient" decal of the
Fig Newtons Newtons are a Nabisco-trademarked version of a pastry filled with sweet fruit paste. "Fig Newtons" are the most popular variety ( fig rolls filled with fig paste). They are produced by an extrusion process. Their distinctive shape is a charac ...
logo covering his
windshield The windshield (North American English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from the elements. ...
, and include a plug for Powerade into a saying of
grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninc ...
before dinner. '' Wayne's World'' featured a scene where Wayne refuses to allow his show's sponsor to appear on the air. When told it is part of his contract, Wayne argues that the deal "didn't include selling out" while conspicuously drinking a can of
Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...
, eating Doritos, and displaying a Pizza Hut pizza. Garth then laments that "people only do things because they get paid" while his entire wardrobe consists of
Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...
athletic wear. Finally, Wayne complains of a headache and Garth advises him to take
Nuprin The analgesic and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) ibuprofen is sold under a wide variety of brand names across the world; the most common being its first registered trademark name of Brufen, along with Advil, Motrin, and Nurofen ...
while cutting to a few seconds of a Nuprin TV ad. ''
Kung Pow! Enter the Fist ''Kung Pow! Enter the Fist'' is a 2002 American martial arts comedy film that parodies Hong Kong action cinema. Written, directed by and starring Steve Oedekerk, it uses footage from the 1976 Hong Kong martial arts film '' Tiger & Crane Fists'' ...
'' spoofed its product placements, highlighting the anachronistic inclusion of a Taco Bell. In a similar vein, in '' Looney Tunes: Back In Action'', the main characters stumble across a Wal-Mart while stranded in the middle of
Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of lowest elevation in North Am ...
and acquire supplies just for providing an endorsement. '' Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens'' poked fun at its sponsor Sony by having one character give another a Blu-ray Disc with the tagline "It's a Sony", only for them to complain that they do not have a Blu-ray player, to which the character responds with a version in Betamax.


Faux placements

Some films do not wish to depict real brands onscreen, so fake brands are created for products shown onscreen. '' X-Files'' (1993–2002) (as well as many other films and television productions) featured the fictional Morley brand of cigarettes, the choice of the Cigarette Smoking Man. The company producing Morleys was also involved in a cover-up conspiracy, ''Brand X''. '' Ghostbusters'' had a faux product in the climax of the film when the team faces the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Previously in the film, Stay-Puft brand marshmallows are shown in Dana's apartment and a Stay-Puft billboard is visible (via a matte painting) when the Ghostbusters' storage grid is deactivated and the imprisoned ghosts are released. Similar in form, Mel Brooks used the same device in the comedy spoof '' Spaceballs'', which parodied '' Star Wars'': in one scene, he opened up a can of Perri-Air canned air, a play on the name Perrier, the brand of bottled water. '' The Truman Show'' used fake placements to advance the narrative of the reality television set. Truman's wife places products in front of hidden cameras, even naming them in dialogue with her husband. This increases Truman's suspicions as he comes to realize his surroundings are intentionally fabricated. Some filmmakers created fictional products that appear in multiple movies. Examples include Kevin Smith (Nails Cigarettes, Mooby Corporation, Chewlees Gum, Discreeto Burritos) and
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensemb ...
(Red Apple Cigarettes, Jack Rabbit Slim's Restaurants, Big Kahuna Burger). This went even further with the fictional brand
Binford Tools ''Home Improvement'' is an American television sitcom starring Tim Allen that aired on ABC from September 17, 1991 to May 25, 1999 with a total of 204 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The series was created by Matt Williams, Carmen Fi ...
which appeared in TV shows ''Home Improvement'' and ''Last Man Standing'' and in the '' Toy Story'' movie franchise, all starring Tim Allen. This practice is also fairly common in certain comics, such as Svetlana Chmakova's '' Dramacon'', which makes several product-placement-esque usages of "Pawky", (a modification of the name of the Japanese snack " Pocky", popular among
anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
and
manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...
fans) or Naoko Takeuchi's '' Sailor Moon'', which includes numerous references to the series '' Codename: Sailor V'', from which ''Sailor Moon'' was spun off. This practice is also common in certain "reality-based" video games such as the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, which feature fictitious stores such as Ammu-Nation, Vinyl Countdown, Gash (spoofing Gap) Zip, Pizza Boy, etc.


Reverse placement

So-called "reverse product placement" creates real products to match those seen in a fictional setting, typically as a tie-in. '' Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'' (1971) led to a real
Willy Wonka candy company Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...
, established soon after the film's release. In 1949,
Crazy Eddie Crazy Eddie was a consumer electronics chain in the Northeastern United States. The chain was started in 1971 in Brooklyn, New York, by businessmen Eddie and Sam M. Antar, and was previously named ERS Electronics (ERS stood for Eddie, Rose and ...
was created as a fictional car dealer in the film '' A Letter to Three Wives''. That name, bestowed in 1971 upon a real-life electronics chain in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, appeared in 1984 in an ad in '' Splash''. Crazy Eddie's memorable ads are parodied in '' Howard the Duck'', featuring a duck version of the famous pitchman, and ''UHF'', as "Crazy Ernie", a used car salesman, threatens to club a baby seal if nobody comes in to buy a car. In 2007, as a promotional tie-in for '' The Simpsons Movie'',
7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. ...
temporarily turned twelve of its locations into Kwik-E-Marts—a fictional chain of convenience stores within the universe of ''The Simpsons''. The stores sold real-world versions of food and drink brands seen in the franchise, including Buzz Cola, Duff Beer and Krusty-O's.


Music and recording industries

While radio and television stations are regulated by national governments, producers of printed or recorded works are not, leading marketers to attempt to get products mentioned in lyrics of popular songs. In 2008, The Kluger Agency was claimed to have proposed placement of '' Double Happiness Jeans'', a virtual sweatshop created as part of the ''Invisible Threads'' project for the 2008
Sundance Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
, in a Pussycat Dolls song for a fee. The firm was not intended to represent a commercial product. It had been invented as a collaboration between
Jeff Crouse Jeff Crouse (born September 10, 1980 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American artist and hacker/creative technologist who works with live data feeds from the internet to make art works. Background Crouse's undergraduate study in Computer Science ...
of the Anti-Advertising Agency and Stephanie Rothenberg. While the product technically existed at the time, ''Double Happiness'' was intended to be a critical piece. In January 2009, ''Migra Corridos'', a five-song EP including accordion ballad "El Mas Grande Enemigo", had received airplay on twenty-five Mexican radio stations. The tune purports to be the lament of a would-be immigrant left to die in the
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...
desert by coyotes (people smugglers). No disclosure was made to the radio stations that the U.S. Border Patrol had commissioned the project with content devised by Elevación, a Hispanic advertising agency based in Washington, D.C. and New York City. In 2010, a video for
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
's "
Telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into el ...
" was panned by critics for displaying nine brands in nine minutes (including her own line of Heartbeats headphones), many as paid product placements. Other 2010 music videos displayed the PlentyofFish website include Natasha Bedingfield's " Touch", Flo Rida and Akon's "
Available In reliability engineering, the term availability has the following meanings: * The degree to which a system, subsystem or equipment is in a specified operable and committable state at the start of a mission, when the mission is called for at ...
", Jason Derulo's " Ridin' Solo", and
3OH!3 3OH!3 (pronounced "three oh three") is an American electronic music duo from Boulder, Colorado, made up of Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte. They are best known for their single " DONTTRUSTME" from their album '' Want'', which reached number ...
's " Double Vision". In 2011, Britney Spears's music video for " Hold It Against Me" advertised PlentyofFish and
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
; one '' Washington Post'' review denounced the video as an informercial. Jennifer Lopez's
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
-sponsored music video " Papi" was edited for broadcast as a 30-second advertisement for the Fiat 500 Cabrio in 2011. The original video also advertised
BlackBerry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
, Tous, Planet Love Match and Crown Royal. Alcohol advertising in music videos drew criticism from Curtin University in
Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...
, Australia in 2011. An Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC) exists in Australia to handle complaints, but a placement of Midori liqueur in Cobra Starship's " You Make Me Feel..." was judged not to be alcohol advertising. Rap and hip hop are notorious for the high level of product placement in lyrics and music videos; as rappers flaunt luxury brands to show off their wealthy lifestyle, companies pay to have their products named in tracks. This integration began in 1986 with Run-DMC's " My Adidas." Hennessy and Alizé are notable as alcoholic drinks which became popular after being promoted in rap.


Comics

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
n football comic book '' Supa Strikas'' accepts product placement to allow for the comic's free distribution. Product placement occurs throughout the publication; on players' shirts, billboards and signage, and through the branding of locations or scenarios. ''Supa Strikas'' receives the majority of its support from Chevron, via its
Caltex Caltex is a petroleum brand name of Chevron Corporation used in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Southern Africa. It is also the brand name of non-Chevron petroleum companies in some countries (such as New Zealand, and previously A ...
and Texaco brands. In markets where Chevron lacks a presence, other brands step in, e.g., including Visa in
Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
,
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The south ...
and
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
. Other brands include their logos included as both billboard and background advertising, and through the branding of locations and scenarios. These companies include Metropolitan Life, Nike, Spur Steak Ranches and the South African National Roads Agency, among others. Other titles adopted the same system, including cricket comic ''Supa Tigers'' and ''Strike Zone''.


Sports

Product placement has long been prevalent in sports at all levels.


NFL

While now-defunct NFL Europe allowed liberal use of team uniforms by sponsors, the main
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
(NFL) does not. For instance, the league prohibits logos of sponsors painted onto the fields, although Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, has their stadium's logomark painted onto the FieldTurf field. In 2008, the league allowed sponsors on the practice jerseys of the uniforms, but not game uniforms. In 1991, the league allowed uniform suppliers to display their logos on their NFL-related products. Since 2012, Nike has been the league's official uniform supplier. Early on, two of the league's flagship teams—the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...
and the Pittsburgh Steelers—adopted their identity from corporate sponsors. The Packers adopted the name "Packers" because they were sponsored by the Indian Packing Company. They later had "ACME PACKERS" written on their uniforms in the early 1920s after the Acme Packing Company bought Indian Packing. The Steelers adopted their current logo in 1962 as a product-placement deal with the American Iron and Steel Institute, which owned the rights to the Steelmark logo. The Steelers later were allowed to add "-ers" to the Steelmark logo the following year so that they could own a
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from oth ...
on the logo. (The Steelers' pre-NFL predecessors also regularly sold naming rights to companies in the Pittsburgh area.) The league has placed itself. NFL Japan was a sponsor of the football-themed
anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
series '' Eyeshield 21''.


Auto racing

In auto racing, the concept of the factory-backed contestant, who is provided with vehicles and technical support in return for the car's manufacturer obtaining visibility for its products in competition, dates in NASCAR to the 1950s and Marshall Teague's factory-backed
Fabulous Hudson Hornet The Fabulous Hudson Hornet is a famous NASCAR Grand National Series and AAA stock car campaigned during the early 1950s that was produced by the Hudson Motor Car Company. Several drivers, including Marshall Teague and Herb Thomas, drove Hudso ...
. "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday" was once a common adage among automakers. In
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...
, a number of major racing teams were once sponsored by tobacco companies, including Marlboro (which has had tenures with Ferrari and the
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
team. Due to tightening regulations on tobacco advertising worldwide, many of these sponsorships have either been dropped, or downplayed and replaced with subliminal versions on vehicle livery when races are held in regions with heavy restrictions or outright bans on the marketing of cigarettes (such as the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
).


Notable placements

Automobiles,
apparel Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natura ...
, beverages, home goods, furniture, consumer
electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
, computers, restaurants,
financial institution Financial institutions, sometimes called banking institutions, are business entities that provide services as intermediaries for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial inst ...
s, travel,
airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in which ...
s and websites are just a few of the product categories. FedEx provided vehicles, access, and logistical support for the making of '' Cast Away''. The movie depicted real FedEx locations, and the company's CEO appeared in one scene.


Automobiles

The most common products to be promoted in this way are automobiles. Frequently, all the important vehicles in a film or television series are supplied by one manufacturer. The James Bond film franchise has been well known for featuring product placements for various vehicles, particularly luxury and
sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
s.
Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated ...
has been the most synonymous with the franchise, dating back to the appearance of the Aston Martin DB5 as Bond's vehicle in '' Goldfinger'' (1964). '' Cars'' (2006) portrays a mix of real and fictional vehicles as characters. None are directly paid product placements, but many are factory-backed by manufacturers who provided technical assistance and vehicles during production. The Lexus LC 500 was featured in the 2018 film '' Black Panther''. The Audi R8 was featured in the ''
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
'' film series, while the Acura NSX Roadster was featured in ''
The Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...
''.


Apparel and accessories

The James Bond series has also featured associations with various accessory and fashion brands, such as Rolex and
Omega Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/ isopsephy ( gematria), it has a value of 800. Th ...
watches,
Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, a ...
clothing, and Samsonite luggage. Vera Wang, Carolina Herrera, Christian Lacroix,
Lanvin Lanvin () is a French luxury fashion house based in Paris. Founded in 1889 by Jeanne Lanvin, it is the oldest French fashion house still in operation. Since 2018, it has been a subsidiary of Shanghai-based Lanvin Group. Bruno Sialelli, a 31-ye ...
,
Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior (stylized DIOR), is a French luxury fashion house controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH, the world's largest luxury group. Dior itself holds 42.36% shar ...
, Oscar De La Renta, Manolo Blahnik and Vivienne Westwood were all featured in the TV series '' Sex and the City''. Under Armour, an athletic wear company, currently worth $6.67 billion, has been featured in films such as the ''
Fast and the Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, a t ...
'' '' The Martian'', '' 22 Jump Street'', and '' Fantastic Four'' to name a few.


Consumer electronics and computers

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ances ...
's products frequently appear in films, music videos and on television. Apple has stated that they do not pay for this, but declined to discuss how its products are placed; some Apple placements have stemmed from their products' ubiquity and position as a status symbol, rather than actual paid promotion. For example, Pixar films have often included references to Apple products as an homage to company co-founder Steve Jobs, who was an early investor in the studio. The 2010 '' Modern Family'' episode " Game Changer" prominently featured the
iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operati ...
and aired prior to its launch, while the 2015 episode " Connection Lost" was presented entirely from the perspective of Claire Dunphy's MacBook laptop, who interacted with other characters via FaceTime video calls and iMessage, while also using other Mac OS X applications. Show creator Steven Levitan said the show had an ongoing relationship with Apple, but did not elaborate further. In the case of the former, while the episode's credits did state that the iPad was "provided" by Apple, the company did not pay the show's broadcaster ABC for the integration, nor buy any commercial time during the episode. Similarly, Apple did not provide any financial compensation for "Connection Lost", but did provide MacBook Pro and iPhone hardware for the filming, and a Mac Pro workstation for post-production. In video games, the most common placements are for processors or graphics cards. For example, in EA's ''
Battlefield 2142 ''Battlefield 2142'' is a 2006 first-person shooter video game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is the fourth game in the ''Battlefield'' series. ''Battlefield 2142'' is set in 2142, depicting a war known as "The Cold War ...
'', ads for Intel Core 2 processors appear on map billboards. EA's '' The Sims'' contains in-game advertising for
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the devel ...
and for
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold ...
. Rare's '' Perfect Dark Zero'' features many ads for
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
in their menus.


Food and beverage

The use of Reese's Pieces as a prominent plot element in the film ''
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, d ...
'' was the result of a sponsorship deal; it was originally intended for the titular character's favorite food to be M&M's candies, but Mars Incorporated turned down an offer, believing the film's alien would scare children. The Hershey Company took the sponsorship instead, which included the rights for the company to cross-promote Reese's Pieces with the film. The deal was considered a major coup for the company; sales of Reese's Pieces tripled, and some retailers had trouble meeting demand for the product. Alongside criticism for trying to ride off the popularity of ''E.T.'', the film '' Mac and Me'' was widely criticised for containing numerous placements for Coca-Cola soft drinks and the fast food chain McDonald's; both brands are integral to the film's plot, while McDonald's mascot Ronald McDonald makes an appearance during a dance scene set at a McDonald's, and is credited as appearing in the film "as himself". Critics also noted that the name of the alien creature featured in the film, "Mac", could also be interpreted as a reference to the chain's notable burger, the Big Mac. Its producer R.J. Louis denied that the film was funded by McDonald's; he had previously worked on campaigns for the company and wanted to make a film that would help benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities, and had to pursue rights to portray the McDonald's brand in the film (noting that he was "still the only person in the universe that ever had the exclusive motion picture rights to the McDonald's trademark, their actors, their characters, and the whole company"), but did receive funding from one of the chain's major suppliers, Golden State Foods. He also justified the extended dance scene, as trips to McDonald's were often seen as a "treat" for children of the era, and explained that "Mac" was meant to be an acronym for "Mysterious Alien Creature". The James Bond series has also prominently featured placements for liquor, tied to the character's recurring affinity for martinis (particularly, vespers), although '' Skyfall'' deviated from this tradition by entering into a promotional deal with Dutch brewery Heineken (which also allowed the company to feature Bond actor Daniel Craig in an accompanying ad campaign).


Tobacco

Tobacco companies have made direct payment to stars for using their cigarettes in films. Sylvester Stallone received US$500,000 to use
Brown and Williamson Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation was a U.S. tobacco company and a subsidiary of multinational British American Tobacco that produced several popular cigarette brands. It became infamous as the focus of investigations for chemically enhancing ...
tobacco products in five feature films. In response to a '' Christian Science Monitor'' article accusing the industry of deliberately using product placement as an advertising strategy, the Tobacco Institute claimed that product placement is driven by filmmakers to "achieve desired artistic effects but also to offset production costs". It also claimed "the 1970 federal ban on cigarette advertising on television and radio does not prohibit payments to filmmakers for the use of cigarettes in a film." The rebuttal concludes with the sentiment that smoking in film provides a certain "aesthetic" which is legitimate and at the filmmaker's discretion.


Airlines

Many airlines have advertised prominently in film, in some cases to promote a new flight route or just to increase public awareness of the company. Pan Am advertised in many films, including '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' and
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...
films.
American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passenge ...
was advertised in '' Home Alone'' and '' Home Alone 2'', and a model of a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 was shown in '' Wayne's World''. Mike Myers' later film, '' Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me'', featured a major promotion with Virgin, including repainting some of Virgin's fleet to read "Virgin Shaglantic".
American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passenge ...
and Hilton Hotels were featured in the film '' Up in the Air''. George Clooney, an avid flyer is constantly seen in the airport because of his career. This film was a huge endorsement for American Airlines, yet no payment was exchanged between the filmmaker and the airline.
Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines (Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the wo ...
was featured in the film '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''. Warner Bros and Turkish Airlines signed a contract together to help promote and endorse the film.


Radio, television and publishing


Television

The list of television shows with the most instances of product placement (November 2007 – 2008; according to Nielsen Media Research) included: * '' The Biggest Loser'' – 6,248 * '' American Idol'' – 3,000 * '' Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'' – 3,371 * '' America's Toughest Jobs'' – 2,807 * ''
One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...
'' – 2,575 * '' Deal or No Deal'' – 2,292 * '' America's Next Top Model'' – 2,241 * '' Last Comic Standing'' – 1,993 * '' Kitchen Nightmares'' – 1,853 * '' Hell's Kitchen'' – 1,807 * '' Glenn Martin, DDS'' M&M's, Mrs. Butterworth, etc. Nielsen called a scene in an episode of CBS' '' Mike & Molly'' of Mike eating M&M's in Carl's apartment 2013's best branded and opinion-shifting product integration in a scripted show. Television shows going back to the 1970s with The Love Boat featured product placements when using the
Princess Cruise Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda and its headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California. As of 2021, it is the second largest cruise line by net revenue. I ...
Lines and shows as recent as Modern Family have featured characters trying to procure an Apple iPad.


Video sharing website

YouTubers are allowed to do product placement. For instance, the ''LinusTechTips'' channel by Linus Sebastian. Notifying
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...
is required, and
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...
reserves the right to ban it.


Literature

In 2001, British author Fay Weldon published ''
The Bulgari Connection ''The Bulgari Connection'' is a 2000 novel by Fay Weldon that became notorious for its commercial tie-in: in exchange for an undisclosed fee from the Italian jewellery company Bulgari, Weldon was required to mention the name of the jeweler at lea ...
'', a novel commissioned by Italian jewellery company
Bulgari Bulgari (, ; stylized as BVLGARI) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1884 and known for its jewellery, watches, fragrances, accessories, and leather goods. While the majority of design, production and marketing is overseen and exec ...
. According to ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...
'', this was the first instance of a literary product-placement deal between an established writer of fiction and a commercial partner.


Legal considerations


United States

Much of U.S. broadcast law pertaining to on-air product promotion dates to the payola scandals of 1950s broadcast radio. An investigation launched in November 1959 into allegations that some radio disc jockeys had accepted bribes in return for radio airplay ended with a US$2,500 fine for disc jockey Alan Freed (of WABC and
WINS WINS may refer to: *WINS (AM), an all-news radio station in New York City *WINS-FM, a radio station in New York City *World Institute for Nuclear Security *Windows Internet Name Service *WINS (solution stack), a set of software subsystems *Wireles ...
) for violating commercial bribery laws. On September 13, 1960, the U.S. government banned payola in broadcasting. Under "All matter broadcast by any radio station for which money, service, or other valuable consideration is directly or indirectly paid, or promised to or charged or accepted by, the station so broadcasting, from any person, shall, at the time the same is so broadcast, be announced as paid for or furnished, as the case may be, by such person..." with similar and related provisions reflected in
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisd ...
regulations as . These provisions have governed subsequent payola investigations, including a 2005 investigation into Sony BMG and other major record companies. Often, a broadcaster claimed to have complied by placing an acknowledgement in an inconspicuous place, such as embedded within the credits. In 2005 U.S. Federal Communications Commission commissioner Jonathan Adelstein stated "if broadcasters and cable TV companies insist on further commercializing new and other shows alike, that is their business. But if they do so without disclosing it to the viewing public, that is payola, and that is the FCC's business."


United Kingdom

In the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, placement by commercial broadcasters was forbidden prior to 2011. On February 28, 2011, telecommunications regulator
Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...
legalised placements in certain types of programming. A placement must be "editorially justified" and not place "undue prominence" on the product. Product placements are not allowed for products that cannot legally be advertised on television, including alcohol, baby milk, gambling products, medication or
junk food "Junk food" is a term used to describe food that is high in calories from sugar and/or fat, and possibly also sodium, but with little dietary fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, or other important forms of nutritional value. It is also known ...
. Placements are not allowed during children's, news, public affairs and religious programs. Additionally, broadcasters must disclose placements on-air by displaying a "PP" icon on-screen during the program for at least three seconds at the beginning, after every commercial break, and at the end. The first legal product placement on British television came during an episode of ''
This Morning This Morning may refer to: * ''This Morning'' (TV programme), a British daytime television programme * ''This Morning'' (radio program), a Canadian radio show which aired from 1997 to 2002 * '' CBS This Morning'', an American morning show, succe ...
'', for a
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, sin ...
-produced coffee maker. As with all other advertising, the BBC is barred from using placements on its publicly funded services.


Extreme examples

'' Back to the Future Part II'' included production placement for futuristic versions of Nike footwear, Pepsi-Cola and ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...
''. '' Blade Runner'' included prominent placement for many brands. The logos of Atari, Bell, Coca-Cola, Cuisinart and Pan Am, all market leaders at the time, were prominently displayed, and all experienced setbacks after the film's release. Coca-Cola and Cuisinart recovered, and Tsingtao beer was also featured in the film and was more successful after the film than before. '' I, Robot'' offers placements for Converse,
Ovaltine Ovaltine (also known by its original name Ovomaltine) is a brand of milk flavoring product made with malt extract (except in the blue packaging in the United States), sugar (except in Switzerland), and whey. Some flavors also have cocoa. Ovalti ...
, Audi, FedEx, Dos Equis and JVC among others, all of them introduced within the film's first ten minutes. One moment includes a straightforward advertisement where Will Smith's character responds to a compliment about his shoes, to which he replies "Converse All-Stars, vintage 2004" (the year of the film's release). Audi created a special car for the film, the
Audi RSQ The Audi RSQ concept vehicle series include: Audi RSQ (2004) The Audi RSQ is a mid-engined concept car developed by Audi AG for use as a product placement in the 2004 sci-fi film ''I, Robot''. It is meant to depict a technologically advanced ...
. Surveys conducted in the US showed that the placements boosted the brand's image. The Audi RSQ appears for nine minutes, and other Audis also appear in the film. ''I, Robot'' was ranked "the worst film for product placement" on a British site. ''
The Island The Island(s) may refer to: Places * Any of various islands around the world, see the list of islands * The Island (Cache County, Utah), an island on the Bear River, Utah * The Island, Chennai, a river island in India * The Island, Chicago, a n ...
'' features at least 35 individual products or brands, including cars, bottled water, shoes, credit cards, beer, ice cream, and a web search engine. In the movie's DVD Commentary track, director Michael Bay claims he added the advertisements for greater realism. '' Josie and the Pussycats'' contains placements in most of the shots. This appears to be done ironically, as the plot of the film revolves around subliminal messages in advertising. The film's general message can also be construed as an anti-consumerist one. The film neither sought nor received compensation for the placements. The 2009 '' Star Trek'', in a scene where young James Kirk drives and crashes a Chevrolet Corvette, he operates a
Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finlan ...
touch-screen smartphone. Before running the car off the cliff while being chased by a hovering motorcycle cop, the distinct Nokia trademark ring tone can be heard. The Finnish phone maker offered ''Star Trek'' apps for its phones. The use of contemporary products was ridiculed, as the scene is set in the year 2255. " The Package", a 2012 episode of '' Hawaii Five-0'', was heavily criticised and mocked for a 50-second sequence in which a character praised
Subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Interconti ...
sandwiches and promoted the
Subway diet Jared Scott Fogle (; born August 23, 1977) is an American former spokesman for Subway restaurants. Fogle appeared in Subway's advertising campaigns from 2000 to 2015, when he publicly became the subject of a Federal Bureau of Investigation inv ...
. The 2013 Filipino film '' My Little Bossings'' attracted criticism for its extensive use of product placement. Reviewers panned the film for being "one long commercial", where advertisements for brands endorsed by the characters' actors are frequently interspersed into the film. Zig Marasigan of ''Rappler'' described the film's use of product endorsements as "some of the most distasteful examples of local product placement while no effort is made to weave them into the narrative." In a similar vein to early radio and television programs, sponsored programs in the Philippines are not uncommon, where children's programs like ''
Tropang Potchi ''Tropang Potchi'' () is a Philippine television informative children's show broadcast by GMA Network. It premiered on December 19, 2009. The show concluded on February 14, 2015. Set in a modern milieu, the program aims to promote traditional F ...
'' and '' Jollitown'' were produced on behalf of companies, prominently featuring products and related properties in the shows in question.


Viewer response

In April 2009, fans of the television series '' Chuck'' responded to a placement by
Subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Interconti ...
restaurants with a grassroots effort to save the show from cancellation. The movement gained support from cast and crew, with series star Zachary Levi leading hundreds of fans to a Subway restaurant in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
,
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.


Criticism

Placement continues to grow, despite consumer groups such as Commercial Alert that object to the practise as "an affront to basic honesty". The group requested disclosure of all product-placement arrangements and notification before and during embedded advertisements. It justifies this to allow parents to protect easily influenced children. In 2005, the
Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers G ...
, a trade union representing authors of television scripts, objected that its members were forced to produce disguised ad copy. Some scholars argue that product placement may inherently affect the creativity and originality of movies as film producers may re-write scripts in order to incorporate products. Most typically, product placement and merchandise are most successful amongst specific genres of movies which may eventually limit the diversity of films.


Research


Effectiveness

As with most marketing tactics, product placement leads to explicit as well as implicit advertising effects. Explicit effects can be observed directly and are usually visible by higher recall scores. They are highly connected to the
conscious Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
mind. Implicit effects can be observed by a change in behavior – like a higher purchase intention. They are fully based on the subconscious mind. Implicit effects are more relevant for purchase decisions and therefore more valuable than explicit reactions. According to a 2009 study of product placement in movies from 2002, product placement in movies are effective financially. The study observed the relationship of a company having a product placed in a movie and that company's stock price. After accounting for other variables, the study found that companies on average have their stock price increase by 0.89% due to product placement during the movie's opening.


Recall

Recall describes whether people can name a product after seeing it within the content. Research showed that there is a significant relationship between product placement and recall.


Attitude

Product placement also leads to changes in attitude towards the product or brand.


Purchase intention

A lot of research has shown a higher purchase intention as a result of product placement.


Subconscious effects

Product placement affects the audience on a conscious, but also subconscious level. Science showed that there does not even need to be an explicit, conscious effect to activate subconscious effects. For example, product placement can lead to an exclusion of competing brands from the consideration set of the audience – subconsciously. It is also hoped to bypass advertising defense reactions of consumers by focusing on the subconscious character of product placement.


Negative effects

Under specific circumstances, product placement can lead to no or even negative effects. This usually happens if the product placement is too obvious, while the audience also feels it is being manipulated.


Placement moderators


=Congruence

= The better the product placement fits the surrounding content, the better the implicit effectiveness (like attitude or purchase-intention) will be.


=Audio vs visual

= After viewing a ''Seinfeld'' episode with visual, auditory and audiovisual product placements, a recall task indicated that audiovisual product placements were recalled the best, visual product placements somewhat less and audio placements least. In a recognition test audiovisual was still remembered the best but audio placements were remembered second best and visual placements were remembered third best. As indicated, the type of placement that is most effective seems to vary depending on task, but audiovisual placements seem to be often the most effective. However, audiovisual product placements are not remembered best when there is more than one audiovisual placement at once, making it hard to remember each one. In case the placement is only on the audio level, advertisers must make sure it is very prominent to have any effect at all.


=Character attractiveness

= People tended to like brand names that were paired with attractive faces more than those paired with unattractive faces. The more times a brand was paired with an attractive face, the more people liked it.


=Product prominence

= Product placement perceived to disrupt a movie, especially when repeated, were found in one study to be counterproductive. Moderate repetition of subtle product placements did not increase people's feelings of distraction. Products that are integrated within the plot of a movie are better recall, although not if more than one product is shown at a time. In one study placements connected to the story were recognized most often, products used by the main character were remembered less often and products in the background were remembered least often. Placements were found more effective on a larger screen compared to on a smaller one. Also, products placed in the first half of a movie tend to be remembered better than products in the second half of a movie, which demonstrates the primacy effect.


=Level of Involvement

= High involvement with the program makes it easier for people to recognize the product placement. This can lead to positive effects, but might also lead to negative reactions. The same applies for high product category involvement.


Audience demographics


Cultural attributes

Older research cited a difference between different cultural areas. For example, Australians, Austrians and Germans tended to evaluate product placement more critically and show less positive reactions than Americans or people from certain Asian countries such as India.


Age

Children are usually more easily influenced than adults. In a 2013 study on children's (age 6-14) ability to recognize product placement in film; the following results were found. Children between ages 6 and 9 did not understand that a company had to pay for the product to be in the film or had confusion on why a company would pay to have a product appear in a film. After age 10 most children were able to identify that an external company paid for the product to appear. Children between age 6 and 9 could not identify themselves as the target audience for the product placement. After age 10 most children understood that the product placement was targeted towards them. Children between age 6 and 9 could not identify the intention of product placement. Children between age 10 and 12 still had confusion over the intention of a company placing their product in a film. Children over the age of 12 had full understanding of the marketing intentions of a company placing its product in a film.


Sex

If the product is endorsed by a person, there are stronger Priming (psychology), priming effects if the audience is the same sex. Women tend to be influenced a little more easily, but show more negative reactions when the product can be described as ethically questionable (e.g. alcohol).


Measurement

Tools It is very difficult to measure the effect of a product placement on viewers : access to exposed audience, recruitment, interviews, database for results comparison, independence from agencies... And more of 70 criteria must be analysed to be comprehensive. To measure the success of product placement, one first tracks the parameters of the placement itself, like the ease of identification, screen time, number of exposure(s), or association with a main character. That information is also often used to determine the price of a specific placement. Secondly, the effectiveness is measured using direct (for explicit memory effects) as well as indirect (for implicit memory effects) measurements.


Measurement of the explicit memory

Explicit effects are measured by recall or recognition tests. Subjects are asked to name the products that he or she noticed (free recall). This survey can be also aided by giving additional information like a specific product category. At recognition tests, a selection of products is shown to the interviewed person, who then needs to select the ones that he has seen before.


Measurement of the implicit memory

Implicit effects are measured in an indirect way by observing a change in behavior. This can be done by tracking the consideration set and buying behavior of people, measuring brain activities or using abstract indirect test settings like the word fragment or word stem completion test. The implicit association test (IAT) is also an applicable measurement tool.


Ethics

Many argue that product placement is ethically questionable, because it manipulates people against their will. A contrary view is, even if product placement is only perceived unconsciously, it is still evaluated by our mind. It cannot make people act against their beliefs. Most people also appreciate the fact that movies look more realistic with real brands and do not feel disturbed by the placements. Additionally, further research argues that product placement is not any different from other marketing tactics when it comes to ethics.


See also

* Subliminal advertising * ''The Greatest Movie Ever Sold''


References


Further reading

* Simon J. Pervan and Brett A. S. Martin (2002
Product placement in US and New Zealand television soap operas: an exploratory study
(''Journal of Marketing Communications'') * * *Chan, F.F.Y. (2012). "Product Placement and Its Effectiveness: A Systematic Review and Propositions for Future Research." The Marketing Review. 12(1): 39–60. doi: 10.1362/146934712X13286274424271 * Gurevitch, Leon. (2010)
"The Cinemas of Transactions: The Exchangable Currency of Digital Attractions Across Audiovisual Economies"
Journal of Television and New Media, Sage Publications, New York, 11 (5), 367–385. * Gurevitch, Leon. (2010)
The Cinemas of Interactions: Cinematics and the ‘Game Effect’ in the Age of Digital Attractions
Forthcoming (December) in Senses of Cinema Journal, Online Journal AFI/RMIT, Melbourne, Issue 57. * Gurevitch, Leon. (2009)
"Problematic Dichotomies: Narrative and Spectacle in Film and Advertising Scholarship
, Journal of Popular Narrative Media, Liverpool University Press, Liverpool, Vol. 2 (2), 143-158. * Marich, Robert (2013) "Marketing To Moviegoers: Third Edition", SIU Press books,

' p. 166-180. * * Pascal Schumacher: Effektivität von Ausgestaltungsformen des Product Placement, Fribourg 2007 * * * * Product Placement mit Startschwierigkeiten (Matthias Alefeld
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