# 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:** 18\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/121 "2005-06-02T01:52:04Z")
There’s also product placement _within_ commercials. There was a fast food chain which used the Maytag repairmen in a couple of their ads (so not only did you get an ad for the fast food, you got a comment on the reliability of Maytag appliances). ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/122 "2005-06-02T04:25:59Z")
A few more product-placement games: Someone else mentioned _Spot_ for the NES and Gameboy. There was also _Cool Spot_ for SNES and Genesis. _Cool Spot_ was actually a pretty fun game, with really good music for the time. Chex made a game called _Chex Quest_ and included it in boxes of cereal. Quite possibly the weirdest use of the Doom engine. Finally, there’s _Nerf Arena Blast_, a Nerf FPS. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/123 "2005-06-02T11:48:36Z")
A pint of Carlsberg in “Ice Cold in Alex”? So good Carlsberg used it in a commercial years later. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/124 "2005-06-02T12:30:59Z")
Had to second the Atari message there, Atari has stopped being “Atari” for a while now. First and foremost (Most Blatant) Master Of Disguise: Delta Dental and [Classmates.com](http://Classmates.com) These two overly blatant spots are basically all I took from the the rather god auful movie. I guess the entire reason it hasn’t been mentioned yet, is because people havent seen it. While we are on the subject of Atari, I have to applaud their non product placement stance. – Oh? The Last Starfighter? Cloak and Dagger? er uh yeah… The Wizard has been mentioned, but the big N is also in Beehtoven. I know, The Super Mario Brothers should make…oh uh they did? I saw it? oh … Can hijack with Seinfeld Junior Mints? 24 and Ford (In some Eps… Including the one where it was brought without commercial INTERUPTION) Spaceballs ““Mr.Coffee”” ? I loved “Stay Tuned”, but I doubt people paid to go along with that. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1) had a few shots as I mentioned in the other post… Dominoes… BK, an offhand comment about Sony. Matrix has the Airwalk Boots, Duracell had a Great “Hey we arent really in this movie” run Morpheous and (Switch?) barely blip the radar with it. ((Then again, I think Duracell is the most typical Battery type… to get the message across)) ET also had the Speak n Spell. You got Waterworld trying overly hard not to mention ‘Spam’ with its Smeat product. Richie Rich had his own McDonalds… lest we forget. ---
**Author:** ![sleeepy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@sleeepy2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeepy2)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/125 "2005-06-02T21:37:27Z")
Speaking of product placement in commercials, it’s interesting to see commercials for Subway or Gillette with NASCAR drivers in uniform, and there must be 100 different corporate logos flashing by, from Alltel to Rubbermaid. Poor Budweiser gets screwed, they’ve got the most popular driver in the world and half his merchandise can’t carry the Bud name 'cause it’s targeted to kids. (Though they don’t seem to mind the Viagra name on kid’s mercandise). ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/126 "2005-06-03T02:42:50Z")
The first time I ever saw the kind of soda vending machine that basically is one huge self-illuminated image/logo was in a scene right near the end of the film **Starman**. ( yes, I’m old. ). The room was nearly dark, it was a small roadside grille as I recall. The ONLY lit thing in the shot was this ginormous soda machine- I believe it was the Coke logo. Talk about blatant… OTOH, spend a day outside of your house. Maybe we’re the ones jumping the shark here, because I cannot think of anyone who has to drive more than a block or two or take public transit to work, who is not bombarded with trademarked logos and advertisements. Billboards, blimps, posters, etc. Visual and aural media saturate many of our lives when we are not working or in the home. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/127 "2005-06-03T05:53:06Z")
Wow, nearly three pages, and no mention yet of the only one that made me sit up and roll my eyes in the theatre, first viewing, and actually somewhat spoilt the movie from that point on. _The Runaway Bride_ and Hector Elizondo’s shameful line, which was precisely FedEx’s campaign slogan at the time: > [@](#): > > [Maggie has just left her groom standing at the altar, and has jumped aboard a FedEx truck] > Ellie: Where is she going? > Fisher: I don’t know, but she’ll be there by 10:30 tomorrow ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/128 "2005-06-03T13:55:29Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > OTOH, spend a day outside of your house. Maybe we’re the ones jumping the shark here, because I cannot think of anyone who has to drive more than a block or two or take public transit to work, who is not bombarded with trademarked logos and advertisements. Billboards, blimps, posters, etc. Visual and aural media saturate many of our lives when we are not working or in the home. And then there’s the occasional story about a guy who wants to put advertisements on satellites or floating around on balloons, permanently blocking out the night sky even in rural areas. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/129 "2005-06-03T14:58:51Z")
After seeing _48 Hours_ I had an obsessive desire to eat a Zagnut candy bar. No, not really. Nobody has ever had an obsessive desire to eat a Zagnut candy bar, which I think was their point. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/130 "2005-06-03T16:13:18Z")
Have anyone mentioned the recent remake of _The Italian Job_ yet? One of my friends, after watching the show, was dying to get one of those mini-cars which were being driven around. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/131 "2005-06-03T17:50:41Z")
> [@ExtraKun](#): > > Have anyone mentioned the recent remake of _The Italian Job_ yet? > > One of my friends, after watching the show, was dying to get one of those mini-cars which were being driven around. Finally, a product placement I recognize, out of all the movies I’v seen here and kept thinking “I still don’t remember that”. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/132 "2005-06-03T18:51:41Z")
Minor nitpick. The Mini was central to the original **The Italian Job** , at a time when product placement wasn’t quite so honed or obvious. While some might argue it’s a buy-out, I just watched the DVD and watched the added bits and interviews. The Producers arranged to have 32 Mini Coopers, plus the classic Mini that Charleze Theron drives in Philly. Dunno who paid who in that arrangement. I mean, they fucked up a **lot of cars** during the shooting. At some point, product placement ends and an invoice for 28-30 demolished Mini’s is due. They apparently kept a 24-hour body shop on the clock to keep repairing the cars. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Norse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/big_norse/32/9954_2.png) [@Big\_Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Norse)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/133 "2005-06-03T20:20:41Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > 24 and Ford (In some Eps… Including the one where it was brought without commercial INTERUPTION) …and Dell and Motorola and Cisco… ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/134 "2005-06-04T18:53:54Z")
[http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/cgi/getdoc?tid=cxz55e00&fmt=pdf&ref=results](http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/cgi/getdoc?tid=cxz55e00&fmt=pdf&ref=results) Superman II apparently is full of smoke. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/135 "2005-06-05T14:16:50Z")
I was watching _Breakfast at Tiffany’s_ last night and thinking about this. Aside from the store being featured in the film’s title, there is an interesting little scene where Paul and Holly visit Tiffany’s for a brief commercial about how kind and understanding the famous diamond and jewelry vendor is to young couples who don’t have a lot to spend. ---
**Author:** ![pasunejen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@pasunejen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pasunejen)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/136 "2005-06-05T19:10:44Z")
The Jet Moto games for the PS were fun, but they were also one long product placement–the teams were all sponsored by a company/product (Mountain Dew, Butterfinger, and I forget the other two), and billboards for those companies lined all the tracks. That being said, somehow I feel like that sort of blatant advertising makes sense in racing games, since it shows up in actual racing. It didn’t really distract from the game. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/137 "2005-06-06T00:30:44Z")
Filling in some gaps: The film in which Caterpillar attempted to sue (and lost) over the use of their construction equipment by villiains was _George of the Jungle 2_ (in this case, the “villains” were the guys trying to tear down the trees.) And regarding product placement in novels, I remember reading a story about a book called _The Bulgari Connection_, in which the author was paid to make Bulgari jewerly an important plot point in the book. > [@Askia](#): > > In GHOSTBUSTERS, when Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver are investigating the fridge, there’s a Coke bottle. Not terrible in itself but everytime they shifted camera angles to the left or right of the open fridge the Coke bottle in the background shifted, too. At the time, Columbia Pictures’ parent company was Coca-Cola. I read once that during Coke’s ownership of the studio, any mention of Pepsi in a Columbia picture had to be a negative one. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718/138 "2005-06-06T06:02:38Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > Filling in some gaps: The film in which Caterpillar attempted to sue (and lost) over the use of their construction equipment by villiains was _George of the Jungle 2_ (in this case, the “villains” were the guys trying to tear down the trees.) Hell, I think they should have sued on the basis that there was a **sequel** to _George of the Jungle_. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blatant-product-placement/305718.md?page=6)