There has always been product placement in movies going all the way back to cigarettes in the old westerns right up to the modern day films like Sex and the City 2. It has been great for two types of branding:

• Product Launch
• Product Consolidation

Some of our biggest film memories feature you guessed it product placement.

• RayBans in Men in Black/most Tom Cruise movies before Top Gun
• DeLorean Car in Back to the Future
• White Castle Burgers in Harold and Kumar
• reese pieces in E.T.

My interest in the subject sprung from something I read stating Macs featured in 1986 movies Short Circuit as well as Star Trek IV. Macs have consistently featured in movies since from Seed of Chucky to Men in Black to Dodgeball! Apple’s troubles through the nineties and the fact that apple survived was always accredited to the dedicated followership of Mac users. All I am saying is that their presence in a series of hit movies must have helped!

Why does it work?

Simply because people associate the brand with the actor and movie in question. For example take a the new movie Social Network. Mark Zuckerberg’s character uses a Sony Vaio laptop. A guy who became a billionaire by 25 uses Sony………therefore Sony Vaio must be great computers! A stretch for the more intelligent minded but the light is burning brightly for the masses.

I believe that product placement isn’t a bad thing, I just hope it never gets in the way of a good movie. One final mention to Wayne’s World and their parody on product placement in the middle of their movie. look it up!