Text 26 Product Placement

Product placement (PP) is a method of advertising where commercial products are placed into entertainment programs such as movies, TV programs, video games, music videos and books. An actor in a movie using a product that was paid to be placed in the movie is product placement. A music video that showcases a product because it was paid to do so is product placement. A video game that features a product that was paid to be included in it is product placement. Thus, product placement is a form of paid advertising that works differently than paid commercials. Nowadays product placement is a vehicle for everything from foodstuffs to electronics and automobiles.

Many consumers do not realize that product placements are paid for. The audience thinks the product 'just happens to be there'. And, when they see their favorite actors, movie stars, celebrities, bands, and video games using certain products, it affects them differently than a commercial that they know is paid for. The product becomes a part of their favorite media.

Although not all consumers appreciate product placements in the media, it seems be better received than commercials that interrupt regular programming. Some of the world's richest companies are paying thousands of pounds a year to have their products 'placed' on television programmes.

The most common form is movie placements. Product placement is something that dates back to at least the early 1950s when Gordon's Gin paid to have Katharine Hepburn's character in “The African Queen” toss loads of their product overboard. Since then, there have been countless placements in thousands of movies. Another very early example potentially occurs in Jules Verne's “Around the World in Eighty Days” (1956) in which transport and shipping companies paid to be mentioned as it was initially published in serial form.

Product placement is becoming bigger and bigger in the TV business. Nowadays Microsoft and its rival Apple are renowned for investing in product integrations on television. Apple has a long-term product placement program—that’s why you typically see its products in movies and television shows. Apple has recently stated that it does not pay for product placement, though executives will not say how their products get into movies and onto TV. The most plausible argument may be that Apple computers appear to be more visually appealing than ordinary PCs. In a twist on traditional product placement, Hewlett-Packard (HP) computers now appear exclusively as part of photo layouts in the IKEA catalog.

Compared to movies and television shows, books are less visual. Whenever a brand is written on a page, the reader just visualizes its logo. If there are people reading, then brand recall has a good chance. With e-books getting more and more attention, it’s only logical that advertisers invade that platform as well.

Some placements provide productions with below-the-line savings, with products such as props, clothes and cars being loaned for the production's use, thereby saving them purchase or rental fees. Barter systems (the director/actor/producer wants one for himself) and service deals (cellular phones provided for crew use, for instance) are also common practices. Producers may also seek out companies for product placements as another savings or revenue stream for the movie, with, for example, products used in exchange for help funding advertisements tied-in with a film's release, a show's new season or other event.

The most common products to be promoted in this way are automobiles. Frequently, all the important vehicles in a movie or television serial will be supplied by one manufacturer. James Bond films pioneered such placement. The 1974 film “The Man with the Golden Gun” featured extensive use of AMC (American Motors Corporation) cars, even in scenes in Thailand, where AMC cars were not sold. In “Desperate Housewives” three of the characters drive Nissans, and the camera view often focuses on the Nissan symbol on someone's car. Cadillac chose to advertise in the movie “The Matrix Reloaded”. Similarly, product placement for Omega Watches, Vaio, BMW and Aston-Martin cars are featured in James Bond films, most notably, Casino Royale.

Questions:

1. What is Product Placement?

2. Is PP free or paid for?

3. What do consumers think about product placements in the media?

4. What is the most common form of product placements?

5. What does Apple`s long-term product placement programme imply?

6. What can you say about Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Microsoft product placements?

7. What does the term “below-the-line saving” mean in product placement?

8. What do the terms “barter systems” and “service deals” imply?

9. What are the most common products to be promoted?

10. Can you bring examples of product placement in movies/TV shows/ music videos / books