Product Placement

After a discussion I recently had about the social control of culture and the strategic placement of products/brands within certain mediums, I began paying a lot closer attention to the programs and movies I watch on the regular.  Specifically, I watched Transformers over this past weekend and couldn't have been less surprised with the product placement in this movie.  From the bright yellow Chevy Camero, Hummer H2, Pontiac Solstice, and GMC Superduty truck, it was clear what the movie was promoting.  I began thinking about the time frame when this movie came out and what people loved the most/reacted to most from the movie.  I came up with the cars.  Leading up to that movie it seemed like society  was more excited about the unveiling of the nice cars than Megan Fox's mid-drift.  This movie "made" these cars, so-to-speak.  Without Transformers, these cars, specifically the Chevy Camero (with its debut model that year) would not have been so hyped up.  By strategically placing the Camero in this high impact action movie, the excitement for the mediocre car shot through the roof.  Soon after it's debut, the car was one of the most popular on the road and the most frequently purchased.  I never would've thought twice about the car had it not been all "decked out" Sport style in the movie, but after watching the film, I immediately felt like I needed to own one.  It amazes me how so many people can say they're not affected by product placement.  They typically say they understand what the brands are trying to do and that they consciously think about the company's motives, so they're not "buying" into the product, but what they don't realize is that they're still falling victim to the advertising.  For the simple fact that it got them to think about the company and their product, it's rational to say the product placement worked.  Similar to my Transformers example, even though people watched that movie understanding the extreme product placement of the Chevy Camero, I guarantee almost everyone went home and looked that car up online or put it on there "to buy" list.  Product placement IS everywhere, but we aren't ever going to be 100% desensitized to it.  It works.

Tom Peters