By now, it’s no surprise to anyone to see a familiar product make a cameo in a movie or TV show. It’s fairly commonplace – a far cry from the insidious, subliminal messaging once suspected to be flashed before our unwitting eyes during packed matinees.
So you see a soda bottle on a prime-time set, or a particular shoe worn in a hit video. No big deal. At least it shouldn’t be. Brand placement, at it’s best, is inconspicuous. Or when it does play prominently, it should still walk a fine line between prop and plot device. Anything more can get… clunky.
The clip of the interactive Heroes spin-off storyline, aptly titled “Slow Burn”, prominently features a Sprint phone. For various reasons Lydia—a character for whom the average Heroes fan has little to no empathy—must hold this device, send texts on it, and basically stare at it from time to time. Clunky.
The tolerably awkward Stephen Colbert bit during the GRAMMY Awards comes off a little less forced, probably because the host’s intentional undermining of his own relevance (referring to to Jay-Z as simply “Z”) fit right in with his brandishing of the iPad, a product that hasn’t quite found its place in the populace.
Finally, a bit of product placement that doesn’t cause involuntary cringing; Timbaland’s Morning After Dark Video features not one but two Nokia mobile devices, one of which the video’s heroine listens to throughout the video. By the time a close up reveals that the device is playing that very Timbaland song, you’ve been wondering what was pulsing through her earbuds anyway. The reveal is relatively natural in this fast-paced, synth-heavy realm.
Whether we’re talking product placement, social media or any other means through which we touch base with an audience that is fragmented beyond all recognition, the degree to which we can seamlessly insert a brand into their already-in-progress experience makes all the difference. How else could all that subliminal movie messaging work so well for a product as heinous as Whopper candies?
Tags: advertising
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