What to make of movies about brands?
Product placement in movies has been a thing for many years- James Bond’s Aston Martins, The Italian Job’s Mini Cooper, New York City subway in all movies set in New York, etc. Product placement is to movies what brand logo is to sports teams’ jerseys. It’s there. We see it. But what happens when the movie revolves around a brand?
The author recently watched a movie called ‘Mrs. Harris goes to Paris’. Now, who is Mrs. Harris and what is the reason for her visit to Paris? The protagonist Mrs. Harris is a happy-go-lucky lady who lost her husband in the war and in London in the 1950s, she earns her living by cleaning the houses of the wealthy. Her life takes a strange turn when she comes across a magnificent dress in her mistress’s wardrobe. She learns that the dress has been created by the house of Christian Dior. The dress enchants her and she immediately resolves to get a similar dress for herself. Fast forward a few weeks, she has saved up enough money for a dress by Christian Dior and inadvertently finds herself in Paris.
A considerable portion of the film shines a light on the early days of greatness for Christian Dior when it had only a shop that was frequented by royalty and the wealthy and every dress had customized measurements. The house of Christian Dior is so enthralling that a cleaning lady lands in one of the coveted exhibitions to hand over her life’s savings for a dress.
The film is an elaborate commercial for Christian Dior featuring exquisite gowns vested with the power to enchant almost anyone. It tells you that a Christian Dior dress stands for ‘something’. It is not just any other dress. Each dress is specially made for you. No one else has what you have.
This week, the author watched a similar movie called ‘Air’ about Nike’s Air Jordan line. In the beginning, you come to know that Nike’s basketball division is on the brink of shutdown. However, the film is not about how the failing division was saved. It’s about how Air Jordan came into being. ‘Air’ comes with a stellar cast, all Hollywood A-listers- Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis, etc. Matt Damon plays basketball guru Sonny who risks his job to get Micheal Jordan to sign with Nike. The film is set in the 1980s when Jordan was just getting started and known by few. Sonny who is convinced that Jordan will be the greatest athlete of all time leaves no stone unturned (he bypasses the agent and appears at Jordan’s residence) to make him sign a deal with Nike.
This film is an elaborate commercial for Air Jordan. It sheds light on how and why the Air Jordan is different from other shoes. It is different because it embodies Micheal Jordan. When you own a pair of Air Jordans, you stand for what Micheal Jordan represents. The film comes up with lines such as “A shoe is just a shoe until someone steps into it.” which might make one wonder why a shoe would stop being a shoe when someone wears it.
If you are like most people, you probably have a brand that appeals to you. You are either a proud owner of an item belonging to that brand or are looking forward to your first purchase of the brand. Have you ever thought about what it is about the brand that captivates you?
Movies such as these two not only narrate the story of a brand but also make people feel more connected to it. You know so much more about the brand now, you know the people who created it, you know how it was created. It makes you feel like an insider. The films transform the banality of capitalism into a quest for greatness. They also shift focus from grave issues such as environmental impact, labor conditions, etc related to these organizations, even if temporarily.
