Can it be happening one more time? We’re mentioning them all over again!
It’s uncanny how products keep getting play–again, and again and again. It’s a cycle that begets itself: Products that advertisers hope you’ll remember are what you end up recalling the most about a film. In today’s movies–where character development and complicated plot are eagerly traded in for ‘green-light-able’ stars, tax incentives and product placement–products are pushed to the forefront of the frame. We bet advertisers didn’t contemplate an advertising extension–6 months or more after the fact–when they signed product placement agreements back when these very films were being inked. Products continue to be highlighted, yet again, on our Web site. Every once in a while, selling-out is just like selling-in.
The roots of product placement can be traced back to the 1951 drama The African Queen, when Gordon’s Gin reportedly paid Katharine Hepburn to repeatedly toss their product overboard, featuring the liquor slyly and prominently. In the 1959 biblical epic Ben Hur, carefully placed tie-ins were made with towels labelled “Ben-His” and “Ben-Hers” artfully appearing within several frames.
A wide assortment of products have inched their way into memorable films: Reese’s Pieces candies were featured in the 1982 sci-fi drama E.T., Red Stripe beer in the 1993 legal thriller The Firm (U.S. version), Pepsi in the 1985 comedy Back to the Future and Taco Bell in the 1993 actioner Demolition Man. As sales rose on these products, it became increasingly clear audiences were deeply affected by what they were seeing on the big screen.
Today, competition to sell is so fierce and star endorsement so effective that soccer star David Beckham’s endorsement of Police sunglasses almost doubled sales overnight. The appearance of a 1969 Dodge Charger’s in the The Dukes of Hazzard adaptation increased its resale value (of the car in mint condition) by more than 60 percent. Advertising Agencies will therefore pay to keep their client’s products in plain sight–or risk losing lucrative accounts. Sometimes, it’s even the product—and the monetary infusion from the company—that enables a film to get made.
Recent offenders of over-the-top (gross-out) product placement include: The Dukes of Hazzard, Fantastic Four and Mr. And Mrs. Smith. The Brangelina-starrer somehow managed to collectively feature over 150 products, while barely mustering a coherent storyline between the antagonistic assassins. It’s no wonder there was no time for story development. Other shameless product hustlers include The Pacifier (37), The Interpreter (41), Hitch (58), and Oceans Twelve (43 products). Brandchannel.com lists the city of Las Vegas as a product placement for Oceans, but can you blame the production for making the most of their surroundings?
When documenting reality, products inevitably appear. Take, for example, Fahrenheit 9/11, which features more than 50 often unavoidable brands. Companies such as Halliburton probably would have been happy not to have been featured. But at what point does the Halliburton brand cease from being integral to the story? Clearly, a crafty helmer like Michael Moore would be aware of all the implications the Halliburton brand held within the context of his documentary.
[PAGEBREAK]In the new release Flightplan, with its terrorist content and play on fear, it’s not surprising the biggest plug was for Aspirin and Johnny Walker. Similarly, the Magnum condom slips in nicely to the The 40 Year-Old Virgin scenario, lending both humour and a subliminal message about safe sex to the comedic tale. The Volvo in The Forgotten furnishes us with character insights; and the same car, known for its safety enhancing crumple zones and re-enforced steel, actually saves the day in Four Brothers. In The Pacifier, would Vin Diesel’s tough character really shop at Costco?
But there is a fine line between storytelling and advertising. Star Wars didn’t need anybody else’s product; it created its own line of products and made a fortune selling them. The James Bond series is a product in and of itself–as is Harry Potter, even inspiring a line of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans for its millions of product-hungry fans. Wildly popular, The Passion of the Christ could easily be described as one long ad for Christianity, and could have done the same for increasing the popularity of religion, as did The Italian Job for increasing the proliferation of the Mini (Cooper).
The day will come when everything seen in films will be product and The Truman Show won’t be a satire. When Sony makes a film saturated with Sony products, is it simply an ad? It’s different if you’re Robert Rodriguez, who wrote El Mariachi around the things he had available to him to save costs and enable him to make his $7,000 shoot-‘em-up debut feature.
This weekend, if you want to avoid being bamboozled with product, opt for a film set in the 17th century, or a horror movie (limited product placement involvement due to blood, sex, violence, etc.). Or even treat yourself to March of the Penguins, which doesn’t advertise a thing–no specially branded penguin snack, nestled in a corner of the screen—and it certainly won’t make you want to visit the brutal Antarctic.
There’s no reason why advertising shouldn’t be positive. Many great, lasting trends, technological advances and new lifestyle models, like healthful eating, have been featured and inspired by movies. Super Size Me pushed its positive message to the forefront by means of its fast-food product. Films also appear to be re-establishing their political feet. Good Night, And Good Luck is a plea for a return to journalism with integrity; while the upcoming Middle East drama Syriana is a call to re-evaluate our dependencies, participation and complicity in today’s cutthroat oil trade.
Perhaps the most truthful and honourable marriage between film and product placement is a call for product ‘displacement.’ Lord of War is the ultimate anti-ad; a scathing indictment of the hypocrisy of the G8 countries who collectively preach arms control while accounting for 84 percent of total arms sales worldwide. The message of the film is clear: Guns and arms are two products the world could well do without. That’s positive advertising.
