Growing up I was always particularly cognizant of brands. My father worked for a major beverage company. As a kid, if we were allowed to drink soda, we were not allowed to drink Brand X, since Dad’s company was paying the mortgage, putting food on the table and paying for my dance lessons.
Naturally, I noticed when product placement advertising was used in my favorite television shows or movies and the increase of the practice’s usage over the years, as we all have. Sometimes it influenced my perception of the brand, other times not so much.
According to an article in the Bulldog Reporter’s Daily Dog, the practice of securing product placement by writers and producers before a script is finished is becoming a big trend in Hollywood. In many cases, the brands they secure can be just as important as the names of the actors they sign. Building a brand is imperative to attracting the executives to the project. The increase of this trend shows that we can expect to see more Pepsi, more Coke, more Apple products, more Monolos, more…..you get the picture.
Does there come a point where product placement in films and television detract from the story they are trying to tell? I my childhood, the Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoons were developed for the sheer sake of selling the toys. These two examples were not the first, nor were they the last. Will there ever come a time when a corporation backs a full-length feature film to sell there product?
What do you think?
