# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/101 "2005-05-31T14:45:12Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > 2.) **Terminator 2** – **Pepsi** this time, with a vending machine in the Galleria Shopping Mall corridor, and characters drinking Pepsi. > > 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. Either they aren’t that blantent or I’ve mastered tuning out ads because I’ve never noticed either of these examples. I’ve seen T2 and moonraker mutiple times. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/102 "2005-05-31T15:03:54Z")
> [@](#): > > Either they aren’t that blantent or I’ve mastered tuning out ads because I’ve never noticed either of these examples. I’ve seen T2 and moonraker mutiple times. Watch again, then, with newly-opened eyes. Preferably wearing Gargoyle shades, like Arnold does. ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/103 "2005-05-31T18:35:20Z")
My favorite is from the movie **And God Spoke** , Moses, played by Soupy Sales, comes down from the mountain with the Commandments in one hand and a six-pack of coke in the other. Wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![sleeepy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@sleeepy2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeepy2)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/104 "2005-05-31T18:46:55Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > 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. I gotta [disagree.](http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=i_robot) ---
**Author:** ![righto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@righto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/righto)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/105 "2005-05-31T18:57:42Z")
Yeah, because Maddox is the end all, be all :rolleyes: Don’t get me wrong, the guy’s hilarious, but his viewed are clearly skewed in favor of pissing off as many people as possibile. And I completley disagree with his views on I, Robot. ---
**Author:** ![sleeepy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@sleeepy2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeepy2)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/106 "2005-05-31T19:04:52Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > They’re hardly the only ones. In the world of Hollywood films, Apple computers are apparently the only kind made. I thought this was an infallable rule. Then I saw National Treasure (shudder) and could have sworn our hero was using an HP notebook. Two closeup shots of the HP logo later, I had confirmation. Regarding tv shows and cars, I think everone in Hazzard county drove Chrysler products. And if I recall correctly, Ferrari gave a couple of Testarossas to Miami Vice a few seasons in. I’m a bit hazy here, but weren’t they using a modified Corvette and calling it a Ferrari the first season? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/107 "2005-05-31T21:36:09Z")
> [@sleeepy2](#): > > I thought this was an infallable rule. Then I saw National Treasure (shudder) and could have sworn our hero was using an HP notebook. Two closeup shots of the HP logo later, I had confirmation. > > Regarding tv shows and cars, I think everone in Hazzard county drove Chrysler products. > > And if I recall correctly, Ferrari gave a couple of Testarossas to Miami Vice a few seasons in. I’m a bit hazy here, but weren’t they using a modified Corvette and calling it a Ferrari the first season? Daisy Duke didn’t. She drove a Jeep, and this was when Jeep was still owned by AMC/Renault. The “Ferrari” in the first couple of seasons of Miami Vice was a kit car, and Ferrari are **religious** in defending their trademarks. You have _anything_ on your design which smacks of Ferrari’s work, and you can expect their lawyers to show up at your door as soon as they get wind of it. Ferrari found out that the car was a kit car (IIRC, the particular model was based on a Ferrari that was one of only a handful made, so it didn’t take the folks at Ferrari long to figure out that it wasn’t one of their cars), and offered NBC a real Ferrari, if they’d get rid of the fake one. NBC agreed, and the show promptly jumped the shark. (Actually, it might have been before that, as I’d quit watching it by that point.) Oh, and in **T2** , John Connor hacks the ATM with an **Atari** portable computer. (Didn’t do much for their sales, did it?) ---
**Author:** ![sleeepy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@sleeepy2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeepy2)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/108 "2005-06-01T11:16:13Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Daisy Duke didn’t. She drove a Jeep, and this was when Jeep was still owned by AMC/Renault. The “Ferrari” in the first couple of seasons of Miami Vice was a kit car, and Ferrari are **religious** in defending their trademarks. You have _anything_ on your design which smacks of Ferrari’s work, and you can expect their lawyers to show up at your door as soon as they get wind of it. Ferrari found out that the car was a kit car (IIRC, the particular model was based on a Ferrari that was one of only a handful made, so it didn’t take the folks at Ferrari long to figure out that it wasn’t one of their cars), and offered NBC a real Ferrari, if they’d get rid of the fake one. NBC agreed, and the show promptly jumped the shark. (Actually, it might have been before that, as I’d quit watching it by that point.) > > Oh, and in **T2** , John Connor hacks the ATM with an **Atari** portable computer. (Didn’t do much for their sales, did it?) Daisy drove a Duster in season 1. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/109 "2005-06-01T16:58:21Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > My vote for most gratuitous after “I, Robot” was in one of the “Lethal Weapon” movies. The characters, who just left a hotel with full room service, pull into a Subway and buy some subs and sodas and then spend several minutes arguing about it. It was quite obviously written in after the script had been finalised and actually destroyed the continuity of the movie. I don’t see any problem with continuity at all – I think you have your sequence of events a little mixed up. (And I never even knew it was Subway until I went back and re-watched that scene just now. As they pull out into the street, they pass a very small Subway sign. I didn’t see any evidence of it until that sign, although to be fair, my tape is not a widescreen version). Anyways: 1. Hotel – room service arrives, just for Leo. Bad guy is pushing the cart, and Riggs tackles him, taking man, cart, Leo, and himself out the window and into the swimming pool 8 stories down. They NEVER EAT THE ROOM SERVICE food. 2. Next scene with them is at Murtaugh’s house, where Riggs and Murtaugh chow down on a little leftover spaghetti, while their wet clothes (from the pool) dry. 3. Next scene – involves car chase, confrontation at the stilt house, and finding out that the residents are the “Diplomatic Immunity” guys. This is in the middle of the day – daylight. 4. Nighttime – they are getting sandwiches at the drive-through. * * * The scene itself doesn’t do anything to advance the plot, however – so it could very well have been added in for product placement. But considering the “The fuck you at the drive through” bit (that doesn’t seem like a ringing endorsement for Subway), I think the scene was probably added in more for the comic relief – Leo ranting and railing against something trivial again, and the others telling him “SHUT UP!” I don’t see any continuity problem, though. Spaghetti at Murtaugh’s house for lunch. Car chase in the afternoon. Subway for dinner (later that night). ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/110 "2005-06-01T17:26:22Z")
An early example of product placement was the inclusion of the Atari logo in **Blade Runner** , presumably to imply that the company would endure long into our future :smack: I used to get irritated that the applications and operating systems I saw in movies and on TV never really looked like the same ones I used. Then I thought about and realized that the last thing the world needs is Microsoft product placement. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/111 "2005-06-01T18:10:57Z")
> [@](#): > > An early example of product placement was the inclusion of the Atari logo in Blade Runner, presumably to imply that the company would endure long into our future _early_? There are plenty of much earlier examples: **Goldfinger** – Kentucky Fried Chicken (also the Soupy sales movie **Birds Do It** and the Jerry Lewis movie **The Big Mouth** ) **2001** – Pan Am, Hilton, Bell Telephone **Charade** – American Express **Miracle on 34th Street** – Macy’s ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/112 "2005-06-01T18:26:01Z")
One more for the pile: **Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines**. Right after the fight at the graveyard, the T-X is attempting to kill our heroes in a moving car. If I remember the scene right, they ditch her by driving under a semi trailer, which bears a HUGE “Xenadrine” logo. The logo is prominently visible during the scene, and during the aftermath, as the T-X collects herself after the collision. It’s so huge and clear, and it’s on the screen for so long, that it distracts completely from the foreground action. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/113 "2005-06-01T18:58:21Z")
The _Mad_ satire also noted in the epilogue that the criminal “received a reduced sentence for having the good sense to use a Mustang as a getaway car”. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > When **Mad** magazine parodied the show, they made a big deal about gthis, ostentatiously showing the cars, and even adding a character named “special guest agent L.T.D. Thunderbird” ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/114 "2005-06-01T19:27:53Z")
> [@Plynck](#): > > An early example of product placement was the inclusion of the Atari logo in **Blade Runner** , presumably to imply that the company would endure long into our future :smack: Atari is still around, and doing quite well for itself. Just because they stopped making video game consoles doesn’t mean they don’t exist. And who knows, maybe in five years they’ll put out another ground-breaking system. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/115 "2005-06-01T19:47:17Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Atari is still around, and doing quite well for itself. Just because they stopped making video game consoles doesn’t mean they don’t exist. And who knows, maybe in five years they’ll put out another ground-breaking system. I think you’re kidding, but for those that don’t know, “Atari” is now owned by Infogrames, a copy not known for financial stability or hardware production. ---
**Author:** ![BigDummy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@BigDummy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDummy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/116 "2005-06-01T20:09:50Z")
The new \*\*Longest Yard \*\* pushes McDonalds pretty hard. With a character named ‘Cheeseburger Eddie’. Though not all the references are really what you’d call appetizing. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/117 "2005-06-01T20:19:58Z")
Aaaagggh! How could I possibly forget this one. This certainly has to be a contender for “Most Blatant Product Placement”: **Mac and Me** > **[Mac and Me (1988) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095560/)** > > Mac and Me: Directed by Stewart Raffill. With Christine Ebersole, Jonathan Ward, Tina Caspary, Lauren Stanley. An alien trying to escape from NASA is befriended by a wheelchair-bound boy. E.T. Clone _named_ after a MacDonald’s product. How much more blatant can you get? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/118 "2005-06-01T22:08:51Z")
> [@sleeepy2](#): > > Daisy drove a Duster in season 1. Yeah, but IIRC, it was a bit of a beater, which went over a cliff in it’s final appearance. ---
**Author:** ![Delly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Delly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delly)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/119 "2005-06-02T00:44:01Z")
Im probably only thinking of this now because I’ve just watched all the Roswell episodes in the last few days. Anyway I think it started late in the first series and carried through until the end of series three, but the whole thing is a walking advertisement for Levis. I’m not in the States but I vaguely remember reading somewhere that there was an advertsing campaign using the Roswell cast. Also, wasn’t Sex and the City a long advertisement for many high-end labels? Louis Vuitton and Manolo Blahnik(sp?) in particular. Also the Kelly Roland video with Nellie, I don’t remeber which song, but they open up the trunk of the car and its literally spilling out with LV cases & bags. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/120 "2005-06-02T01:05:10Z")
Speaking of “Terminator”, Arnold has managed to go one better. The [Sacramento Bee](http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/12979461p-13826480c.html) (sorry, registration required) reports that product placement has made it into political ads. > [@](#): > > The set for a 30-second spot about Schwarzenegger’s budget-control initiative resembles a cafeteria and features a Pepsi, a bottle of Arrowhead water, a Dr Pepper and a rack of potato chips. > All are manufactured by companies that have given money to Schwarzenegger political committees, according to the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. Say what you will, the guy’s pretty slick. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718.md?page=7)