Maybe I’m just naive, but I didn’t think The Simpsons was the type of show to countenance a product placement.
I was just watching the “Buck McCoy” episode (not sure when it was made, but it’s pretty recent) and in the last scene, where Buck McCoy foils the bank robbery, there is very clearly a VW “new Beetle” in that familiar green color parked on the street. Is this a product placement? Cars in The Simpsons are, as a rule, just generic “cartoon cars”. Anyone know the real story?
They’ve also prominently featured a Butterfingers candy bar, in the episode where Marge gets the town to ban all sugar. “Even the fire won’t take it.”
Miller, that’s probably because of the Butterfinger Simpsons ads. There have been several times where they’ve referenced something that happened in the real world using the Simpsons property in the show.
Yes, I know. Hence the humor of the joke. It’s still a product placement, and more blatant than most of the other jokes on the show that refer to the marketing of the Simpsons.
If you watch carefully, you’ll see a VW Beetle (old and new) is almost every episode where there’s traffic.
Don’t forget their frequent mentions of the Fox Network. And, they once had a bus drive by touting “Mad About You” which at the time was on opposite the Simpsons. The appearances of characters from King of the Hill, Ren and Stimpy, Life in Hell, The Family Guy, and The Critic also count as product placement.
Don’t forget the product placement of Mountain Dew.
And Crab Juice.
“I’m so hungry I could eat at Arby’s!”
Can’t get more blatant than that.
Skittles were mentioned (Skittlebrau), as were Milk Duds (comparing them to Lovejoy’s daughter as sweet on the outside, terrible on the inside*).
McDonald’s was mentioned in the Pulp Fiction parody.
Lou: I know, I never heard of them either, but they have over 1700* locations in this state alone.
Then there’s the episode where Bart wants an ear ring (“Simpson Tide,” in which Homer plays the Denzel character). He walks into the mall and passes by a Starbucks. The next store is boarded up, in the process of becoming a Starbucks. He walks in the ear ring shop, and the clerk (sarcastic man) tells him to hurry up, because in 15 minutes the store will turn into a Starbucks. Bart’s now got his ear ring, and as he’s walking back through the mall, we see the entire upper level is one Starbucks after another.
Sure, it’s a dig at Starbucks’ nefarious plan to take over the world, but it’s still product placement.
Since when is satire considered product placement? Is the show getting compensated for any of the above examples?
I feel like chicken tonight, like chicken tonight…
Exactly. Are people misunderstanding what’s meant by the term “product placement”?
The Simpsons is a show that constantly parodies popular culture so it’s natural that they will make jokes about well-known products, but it’s not product placement unless the producers are getting paid by Starbucks, McDonalds, etc. This whole thread appears to suggest that’s what is happening, which I seriously doubt. Maybe a more appropriate title would be “References to Real Products in The Simpsons”?
I was just watching my season 2 DVDs, and in one of the blackboard gags in the opening credits, Bart’s writing “I will not Xerox my butt”. Not “photocopy”…“Xerox”. Ya-HAH!
nuts and gum
together at last!
been waiting ages to get that one in
I have to agree with Slacker & LSD-25. Mentioning a real brand name is not product placement; in fact, almost all of the examples cited so far are taking swipes at the products and although there may be no such thing as “bad publicity”, it’s unlikely any of these people appreciated having their product in a “It’s so bad…” context.
I still cannot find Skittlebrau anywhere.
I think somebody on the Board tried to make Skittlebrau once–the beer washed all the color off the Skittles, making them gray, and it was really gross.
HumanStromboli, one thing you didn’t mention was that as Bart was walking out of the mall, he was sipping from a Starbucks cup. I love that whole gag.
In the same vein, “Hot dogs, Armor hot dogs. What kind of kid eats Armor hot dogs…”
Which features a great satire of product placement/spokesmanship. As the song ends, Homer runs buy carrying a sign reading “Please buy Armour™ brand hot dogs.”