Advertisements are Taking Over
Watching movies are something everyone loves to do, it is always nice to lay down and catch a good movie. Ever since the film industry emerged as a powerhouse, commercials have been going more unseen. Advertising in movies is tricky because unlike television shows, movies do not have commercial breaks. The advertising done through film seems so much more natural because they promote a certain brand but in a smoother way that is not a typical advertisement, they tie in a brand to the plot.
With the creation of film in the 1800s advertising was challenged. Advertisements are not just thrown into the middle of a movie so advertisements had to be more creative in way in which they reach their audiences. One way that advertisements get into movies are Advertisement placements. Ad placements are when a company places their brand in media to gain customers attentions with them not even knowing. Ad placements are very low key but once you spot the advertisement you will always remember it.
Sometimes these ad placements go unseen in movies because of how overwhelmed we are as a society by advertisements. If you do not pay attention to advertisements around our media you may not pick up on things that others do. But little do you know, advertising is everywhere we turn from our favorite movie to walking the aisles of a supermarket. Growing up, I was unaware of all the advertisement placement in movies until I thought about some throwbacks and realized how many advertisements I did not pick up on.
Some of my favorite movies growing up had some placements of major companies that served as an advertisement. In 1999, Big Daddy was released starring Adam Sandler. The plot of the story is that Adam Sandler recieves an abandoned five year old that is there to teach him responsibility. McDonald’s appears in this movie and was always a memorable scene of mine. The little boy wanted the McDonald’s breakfast and when they got their for breakfast it was switched over to the lunch menu. This scene of the movie advertises McDonald’s breakfast without it being a direct commercial. Many forms of media are always adding advertisements to entice consumers. Also, in this scene Hooters is mentioned.
In film, there is a reason for everything in a particular scene. Everything is made perfectly and put in place on purpose. McDonald’s and Hooter in Big Daddy are not just random places picked by the movie, the directors planned for these two restaurants to be involved. Another movie famously known for ad placement is Wayne’s World. This movie is about two guys (Wayne and Garth) who have their own television show. Wayne’s World is a hilarious comedy where the two guys make a break and become famous but do not really like working in the studio compared to airing the show from their house. In this particular scene, Pizza Hut and Doritos are the two food ads that were placed in this movie.
Some movies are actually based completely on fast food restaurants. For example, Harold and Kumar go to White Castle is a movie about two guys on an adventure to get food at White Castle. However, this adventure starts because one commercial that Harold and Kumar saw of White Castle. They instantly starting craving White Castle after seeing the commercial and then the adventure starts.The movie is filled with unfortunate events that happen to Harold and Kumar but the movie is all over with them indulging in White Castle burgers. This clip is at the end of the movie after they finally made it to White Castle and placed their order. When I watched this movie it made me want to drive to the closest White Castle to try it.
Some placement ads have really boosted revenue for a particular company. For example, in 1982 the movie E.T. The Extra Terrestrial used Reese’s pieces in the plot of the story. Orginally, Spielberg planned to use M&Ms but he was declined. After the release of this film, Reese’s Pieces profits went up about 65 percent. M&M missed out on a great advertising opportunity by declining Spielberg’s offer.This movie is about an alien being stranded on Earth and then being found by a boy name Elliot. Elliot and his little sister keep the alien a secret In the following scene Reese’s Pieces are being used by a little boy (Elliot) for luring E.T. This movie was one of the first movies that utilizes product placement.
One of my family’s favorite movies of all time is Little Nicky. Little Nicky was released in the year 2000 and stars Adam Sandler as Nicky. The movie is about Nicky who is drawn between two worlds, heaven and hell because his mother is an angel and his father is a devil. After Nicky’s evil brothers try to take over their world and make it evil, Nicky has to try to find a balance between good and evil on Earth. In this film, Nicky released the awesome (Popeye’s Chicken) on evil and the evil side grabbed the chicken and absolutely loved it. The quote “Popeye’s Chicken is the shiznit” is one of the most memorable quotes from this movie. Even though the whole movie is not about Popeye’s just this short scene stuck in my mind due to this quote.
Some movies are filled with advertisements from beginning to end just because it goes with the theme of the movie. One prime example of this is the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. This movie was released in 2006 and stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. Advertising is heavy in sport competitions and events. For example, in this movie NASCAR is the main idea of this movie and the cars are covered with logos. The three main competitors in this movie are sponsored by Wonder Bread, Old Spice, and Perrier. These three brands are posted everywhere throughout the whole movie. This movie alone gave Wonder Bread exposure that is wroth around $4.3 million. During this scene from Talladega Nights shows ad placement for Fig Newton and Wonder Bread.
On the other hand, movies and other media can talk negatively about a brand. There is a whole movie dedicated to McDonald’s being fattening. Super Size Me was released in 2004 and is about a man eating McDonald’s for every meal for a month. After the alarming outcomes of this experiment, McDonald’s was viewed very negatively by the public. As seen above, movies can help a company by promoting their brand but also movies can damage a brands image as well. Even though McDonald’ s is still a powerhouse, after watching this movie I slowed down my purchases at this restaurant.
All of these ad placements are creative, yet sneaky. Most people who engage in our everyday media are blinded by the content they are seeing and do not even realize what the media is doing to them. Almost everywhere we turn, there is something being advertised to us. From new media such as social media to traditional media such as a newspaper, advertisements are involved. All of these ad placements were successful in what they were trying to do because they are remembered. Ad placements can be so small as to a one liner in a movie, but in the end influence your purchase decision. It is important to seek out what kind of content media is trying to portray to us. Ad placement is not only in movies, it can be found on almost all forms of media.
