Written by: Allie Nichols
Product placement is a visible recognition of products and brands in movies, tv shows, music videos. Advertising has become increasingly important. Sometimes we don’t even realize that things we see are supposed to be promoting a certain product, or business. A lot of different products and brands can be promoted in the same movie. How many times do you see name brand products in a movie that you're watching? Do you recognize that these products are being advertised, or do you just think it was supposed to be part of the scene in the movie? Product placement is a really big factor in the success of some businesses. (https://www.intechopen.com/books/advancing-insights-on-brand-management/product-placement-as-an-effective-tool-for-the-brand-positioning)
Product placement is a huge part of marketing efforts, with the approach of getting brands and products recognizable. Companies that choose to put their products in movies, music videos, or tv shows generally spend about $22,000 per placement.(https://brandongaille.com/46-product-placement-in-movies-statistics) As you can see, that’s not cheap for just one movie or show. Considering how many people watch the movie, I think they are really getting their bang for their buck.The next time you see a product on TV, in a movie, or in a music video it is most likely that the product is intentionally placed in that exact scene for a fee.
Here are a few examples in product placements being successful.
In the 80s, the movie Top Gun gave Ray- Ban a huge increase in sales when famous actor Tom Cruise wore Ray- Ban Aviators in almost every scene. After the movie, everyone was hitting the stores getting the famous ‘Ray- Ban Aviators,’ the exact black sunglasses Cruise wore in the movie.(https://shadesdaddyblog.com/top-gun-sunglasses-sunglasses-tom-cruise-wear-top-gun/)
In 2011, Drake came out with his single, Headlines. In the music video, Drake wore a black Nike hoodie and Nike gloves. A lot of Drake’s biggest fans who saw him wearing these products wanted them.
These are examples of ‘good product placement’ because they are very clear and straight to the point of why they are in certain scenes. An example of a bad placement of products is if the product is too obvious or having more than one product at once. For example in the movie I Robot, in the scene that they were trying to promote ‘All-Star converse’ there also was a brand new ‘Audi’ sports car in the shot, which took away from the promotion of the converse tennis shoes. (https://screenrant.com/worst-product-placement-scenes-hollywood-movies)
The best product placement in a movie I have seen is ‘Cast Away.’ I walked out of seeing that movie and immediately wanted a Wilson volleyball that stuck with the actor the whole movie.
All in all, Product Placement, if used correctly, is an effective tool in advertising that boosts brand recognition and has potential to increase sales. Product placement is very important for businesses to promote their product in an ethical way. Product placement is a visible resource that is helping social consumptions of a ‘well-known’ brand or product. The way that Product placement is growing in popularity is a testament of the efficiency of this advertising tool. (https://www.intechopen.com/books/advancing-insights-on-brand-management/product-placement-as-an-effective-tool-for-the-brand-positioning)
Sources:
https://brandongaille.com/46-product-placement-in-movies-statistics)
https://www.fortressofsolitude.co.za/product-placement-movies/
https://shadesdaddyblog.com/top-gun-sunglasses-sunglasses-tom-cruise-wear-top-gun/
https://trendjackers.com/14-examples-of-product-placement-in-music-videos/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqwk0qs8EOc
https://screenrant.com/worst-product-placement-scenes-hollywood-movies/
Author: Allie Nichols