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Sunday, June 17, 2007

Spot the Product Placement

As I mention in my review of "Nancy Drew", Nancy uses a Mac Book for her online sleuthing. It is a brilliant bit of product placement. The Apple notebook shares several scenes with Nancy and can't be missed. Apple seems to be seriously pursuing product placement in movies. Ever noticed how you see more Mac Books in movies than Windows notebooks? Seems to be the reverse of the real world. Nancy also uses a video iPod. She even manages to seal the bad guy's fate with her iPod and an accessory. According to the "Washington Post" newspaper, Apple does not pay for these placements, but it was one of the first company's to employ an agent in Hollywood to promote the use of its products in TVs and movies.

Product placement on TV and in movies amuses me more than it annoys me, as long as the product is a seamless part of the show and not out of place. I'd rather see movie and TV characters drink Coke and Pepsi than black and white cans of who-knows-what. It is actually much less jarring. When characters drink from blank cans, it is obvious that the producers are just trying to avoid giving a soda company a free plug. Besides product placement has to be the way of the future. Thanks to Tivo I only watch the most amusing commercials or the first few for a new product or show that I'm interested in.

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