Product placement in movies, have you seen it?

Everybody has watched James Bond movies, Matrix or even Tom Hank’s Cast Away but have you ever wondered why for example James Bond always drives Aston Martin and not let’s say BMW, or why does Tom Hank open boxes from FedEx while on a deserted island? These are some subtle things we see all the time in movies but what is the reason behind it? Well, the answer lies in the art of product placement and how the brands grab you while you are not ever aware of it.

Some of you may heard of the term called „product placement“, it is often used in context of television and movies. In modern day advertising product placement is quickly becoming effective way to reach their customers in a more subtle way. The beauty of product placement is that it is now thrown in your face like lets say commercial which you can easily skip. Whole premise of it is that you are not even aware that you are looking at product that is beeing advertised to you but rather as and object that character in a movie is using like for example Neo using Nokia phone in Matrix. But what impact does product placement have on advertising, how much does it cost and why it is so efficient?

So what exactly is product placement? Well is short, product placement is the promotion of branded goods and services within the context of a movie or a TV show. When you see product or a service appear on a TV show or in a movie, company that owns the shown brand usually( but now always) has to pay for their brand to appear. It is also known as embedded marketing or advertising, the practice has been around for decades but advertisers have become much more effective in a way they are using product placement. It is very distinct form other types of advertising and that is making it easier to fly under our radars. The first example of product placement in history was 1934. in a movie called It Happens One Night. It is also interesting that product placement or that type of advertising is not permitted in Europe unlike US.

But what does the product placement cost? Well that question is a bit difficult to answer and it can vary. There are many factors to take in consideration and no set rules and usually but not always the highest bidder is the one that is the winner of the placement. There are many factors to take in a consideration such as cast of the movie, who is the director, what big names are associated to help drive the cost, how big is an audience for the movie and most importat one does anyone else want it or is the category competitive. Many brands miss the magic of product placement where relationships and familiarity drive the opportunity versus an open pocket book. If the decision maker didn’t grow up with your brand, and it’s not part of their daily life, you need to start making it be. This is particularly true for international brands who have no presence in the US. You want the decision maker to think the partnership is a fit. And not have to climb a mountain trying to sell it in as one.

And now we come to some of the best examples of product placement in movies. Everybody has watched Tom Hank’s Cast Away and some of you may even felt very emotional when his volleyball Wilson fell in to the ocean. In the movie there are scenes where main character is opening a lot of FedEx boxes, it is done very subtle but it easily flies under our radars. One other example is of course James Bond but other than Aston Martin there was one more product placement in James Bond movie Skyfall. In 2012 Bond did the unthinkable and instead of drinking his usual Martini” shaken not stirred” he opted for Heineken bear, Ian Fleming probably rolled in his grave but either way the sponsorship probably saved Skyfall which had problems with the budget and the studio. And lastly Ray- Ban in Top gun. Top Gun gave Ray- Ban huge boost in sales back in 80s when Tom Cruise’s wore Aviator sunglasses in almost every scene.

So in the end do advertisers need to invest in product placement, in short yes. Time has shown that more and more advertisers put their brand in global blockbusters and with that they increase not only their sales but brand awareness. As Hollywood is releasing more and more movies that earn immense amount of money on global scale, advertisers and big brands need to and some of them even are at the moment invest into product placement in movies.