# Most Blatant Product Placement **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 27, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718 "2005-05-27T04:01:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/41 "2005-05-27T14:31:18Z")
> [@Pashnish Ewing](#): > > I dunno. I didn’t see the movie, but I think I would have been more distracted if they made up some kind of Generic Brand [sup]TM[/sup] shoe for him to marvel over. In just about every case I’d rather the producers use real products rather than fake ones. Who cares if they get a few more bucks in the process? But the point is that there is _no earthly reason_ for the shoe scene to be in that movie at all, except as a plug. It’s not a plot point, it doesn’t tell us anything about the character, it’s just an intrusion. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/42 "2005-05-27T14:42:34Z")
> [@midget](#): > > Those were Reese’s Pieces M&M’s turned down Spielberg because they didn’t like the premise of the movie. Excuse them, they are idiots. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/43 "2005-05-27T14:53:08Z")
The one that struck me as the most blatant was in Matrix: Reloaded. Towards the beginning, when all the ship captains are meeting in the matrix, a car pulls through the alley, towards the camera, coming to a stop just as the Audi logo on the front grill fills the screen. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![wayward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a87d85/32.png) [@wayward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wayward)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/44 "2005-05-27T15:00:47Z")
I’d go for the first Spider-Man film, when Pete’s practicing his new found web-shooting in his room, targetting various objects. Lamp. Picture frame. DR PEPPER CAN! Fullscreen! Look at that! Couldn’t help but laugh. Then there’s the Head&Shoulders business at the end of _Evolution_. That was just weird. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/45 "2005-05-27T15:07:18Z")
I have to completely disagree about the shoe scene in _I, Robot_. It is far from gratuitious but is meant to help establish WIll Smith’s character as a sort of luddite (not strictly speaking). But in the movie he clearly is not a fan of modern conveniences, esp. robots. This is evidenced not just by the vintage shoes he buys, but by the motorcycle he drives and the stereo system he owns. Nowhere near gratuitous. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/46 "2005-05-27T15:09:18Z")
> [@FlyingDragonFan](#): > > The one that struck me as the most blatant was in Matrix: Reloaded. Towards the beginning, when all the ship captains are meeting in the matrix, a car pulls through the alley, towards the camera, coming to a stop just as the Audi logo on the front grill fills the screen. Ugh. This same thing happens in Top Secret! with a Pinto. but then it blows up. I guess it’s not the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/47 "2005-05-27T15:29:08Z")
In _Minority Report_ there were blatant ads for Lexus, Revo, Guinness, American Express, and Reebok. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/48 "2005-05-27T15:32:58Z")
You can see a lot more at [brandchannel](http://www.brandchannel.com/brandcameo_films.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/49 "2005-05-27T15:35:58Z")
Don’t forget that piece of shit _Josie and the Pussycats_. The whole thing was a giant ad for Target, AOL, Starbucks… you name it. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/50 "2005-05-27T15:43:47Z")
> [@Troy McClure SF](#): > > Don’t forget that piece of shit _Josie and the Pussycats_. The whole thing was a giant ad for Target, AOL, Starbucks… you name it. I can just see the scene in the producer’s office. Producer #1: This script is crap. No one’s gonna pay to see it. We have to make the script better so that more people will buy tickets and we can make some money. Producer #2: Hey, we can just sell ad space throughout the movie and then it doesn’t matter if anyone sees it. Producer #1: Genius! ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/51 "2005-05-27T15:48:35Z")
I’ve read that the rise in Reese’s Pieces sales following _ET_ is what really ignited product placement. Remember the movies and TV shows from the 1970s and before where the family’s cupboards would have generic loaves of breads or brands you’d never heard of? (On _The Carol Burnett Show_, anytime the character drank a soda or a beer it was a can of _Tab_ but with a fake label to hide the brand name.) Of course there’s no telling how much _The Simpson’s_ has increased the sales of _Duff Beer_. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/52 "2005-05-27T16:08:48Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > 3.) **James Bond movies** are pretty blatant about shilling, although sometimes it’s handled with a _bit_ of class ( **The Living Daylights** – “The list indicated an inferior brand, so substuituted Bollinger”). The worst is the Rio chase scene in **Moonraker** , which seems to have been set up solely as an excuse to run by a bunch of billboards touting thye products. Amen! Bond films were financed (at least partially) by placement. But Moonraker has to take the cake for blatant. The appearance of Marlboro Cigarettes might be one thing, but in case you missed it…the Marlboro billboard in the ambulance chace? Not to mention the British Airways billboard. Maybe it’s insulting to use the term blatant. Why not use the term lazy? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/53 "2005-05-27T16:10:02Z")
To me the most interesting thing about this is that I initially welcomed the use of actual brands in T.V. shows and movies. I grew up in an era between 1950’s wholesale sponsorship of T.V. shows by corporations (Texaco Star Theater, etc.) and 1990’s use of product placement. It always bugged me that people ate “Crackly Flakes” cereal and drank generic “Soda”. When I first started seeing real products in movies and on T.V., it made the shows seem much more realistic. It’s only recently that it seems like product placement has crossed the line from realism to blatant advertising. When I saw the thread title, I immediately thought of _Castaway_. Its portrayal of FedEx may not be 100% positive, but the whole movie did feel like a FedEx commercial to me. (“We’ll get your package to you no matter what we have to go through!”) ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/54 "2005-05-27T17:13:34Z")
My favorite recent example not in a movie or TV show: > [@](#): > > [Group Slams Product Placement in Schwarzenegger Ad](http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/schwarzenegger_ad.html) > The TV ad, released in May, features Schwarzenegger talking to people in a lunchroom, and places Pepsi and Arrowhead Water in prominent spots next to the governor for one-third of the ad. > > Donors connected to Pepsi Co. and Arrowhead Water’s parent company, Nestle, gave the governor a total of $279,800 in campaign contributions. Also recognizable on-screen are Ruffles, Sun Chips, Cheetos and a SoBe Beverage, all brands owned by Pepsi. There’s a link to the actual ad, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to watch it. ---
**Author:** ![Zahava424](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/76d3ee/32.png) [@Zahava424](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zahava424)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/55 "2005-05-27T17:13:59Z")
In an episode of Alias from a couple of seasons ago, before I stopped watching the show, Sydney (Jennifer Garner) and Lauren (Melissa George) became involved in a car chase while driving a Ford Focus SUV. For some reason, they needed to call Marshall the tech guy (Kevin Weisman) for some help. He didn’t realize the situation was urgent and started taking about the car, something along the lines of: Marshall: Hey, Syd, are you driving than new Ford Focus? Sydney: Yes, but Marshall– Marshall: Do you like it? Because I’ve been thinking about getting a Ford Focus. They say it handles well– Sydney: Marshall, FORGET ABOUT THE FORD FOCUS! We need help! I thought that was pretty egregious. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/56 "2005-05-27T17:50:33Z")
Although (IMO) the movie “You’ve Got Mail” was terrible all around, a special mention has to made for it’s egregious product placement. This movie’s product placements are particularly execrable since the flick claims to be on the side of small, independent stores rather than large corporations. Tom Hanks character (the bad guy) is the CEO of a large chain of megalithic bookstores (read “Barnes & Noble”), Melanie Griffith (the character we’re supposed to root for) owns a cuddly-wuddly Kids bookstore (cue schmaltzy sentimental music!) that’s going to be put out of business by Hanks’ store. While characters spend a lot of time defending the “spirit of independent cottage-industries”, they spend a lot more time emailing each other on AOL (logo is prominently splattered across the screen again & again), and drinking coffee at (where else?) Starbucks. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/57 "2005-05-27T18:00:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Will Smith opens up a package from a future e-bay like company and smiles: “Vintage 2004 Converse running shoes!” This one actually did nt bother me for one reason. I felt like the director and SMith were actually playing it up and making it as blatant as possible to remove any subtlety at all. In that way, it draws so much attention that it ceases to become a product placement. In other words, they were mocking Converse. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/58 "2005-05-27T18:15:20Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > There’s a link to the actual ad, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to watch it. I just watched it, and it’s really not that bad. I don’t think I would have even noticed if it hadn’t been pointed out. It just looks like people eating in a cafeteria, with food sitting around. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/59 "2005-05-27T18:21:14Z")
No one’s mentioned The Apprentice yet? I quit watching it specifically because they weren’t even trying to pretend it was a legitimate contest any more. It’s an hour long infomercial every week for whatever company ponied up the cash. And Ford has sponsored several B-grade syndicated action type TV shows. That Pamela Anderson show comes to mind, though I forget the name. Watch it and you’ll see nothing but Fords on the roads. Oh, and don’t forget VIPER, the TV show starring, yes, a Dodge Viper. And some guy driving it, I think, but he wasn’t important. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/60 "2005-05-27T18:36:06Z")
[Here’s a related thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=318558) on the history of product placement I started to keep from hijacking this one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718.md?page=4)