Product Placement

Product placement subtly advertises products in books, video games, on TV or in movies. It is a really effective way to reach a specific target audience that identifies themselves with for example a specific movie. The effectiveness of a product placement depends on for how long the product is mentioned or seen for example in a movie and, going on using movies as an example, if the product or the brand name is seen in the background or in the foreground. It is also really important if one of the actors in the movie does something with the product, for example holds it up, or if he or she even talks about it. This really emphasizes that the movie supports the brand or the product and therefore appeals to the target audience. Another point in evaluating how good a product placement is (and how much it costs too) is when in the movie the brand or product turns up; whether it is at an important point in the plot or only at a minor point. In the following, I am going to present a few examples of product placements in movies, some of them effective and some of them maybe a little over the top: One of the movies that is most famous for its product placements and that even gets people to expect to see some familiar brands in it is James Bond. There are product placements of cars (Ford, Aston Martin etc.), of watches and jewelry, of cell phones (Sony Ericsson) and of many other things. However, in my opinion, in the last few James Bond movies the companies responsible for the product placements went a little over the top with their attempts to subtly advertise their products. James Bond cannot be identified with anything, for example nobody would ever expect the 007 agent to drive a Ford car that is not known for being very sporty or luxurious. A better example for product placement that works because it matches the movie it is placed in and also the specific target audience can be found in the Spiderman movies. It is very believable that Peter Parker, a young twenty-something drinks Dr. Pepper and also the big billboards that can be seen on Times Square in New York City where he lives are not very far away from reality and will barely be consciously noticed by any viewers as advertisings. This is a good thing, because this kind of advertising is very subtle and not so obvious. It will not make people feel like they paid for a movie only to be exposed to advertisings as it could be the case in James Bond movies. Product placement in movies or in other media can be a really effective way of subtly advertising a product to a special target group. However, one has to be very careful and aware about the thin line between entertaining people and at the same time exposing them to subtle advertising and annoying people by putting lots of products in front of them when they are not interested in those products because they do not have anything to do with for example the movie they are watching. Overdoing product placement can lead to a loss of brand equity and to a negative instead of a positive effect concerning the brand or product that is promoted.