Stupidest Product Placement
Pat Steward
>
>I don't get this. People get all upset about something I never really
>notice...they claim that product placement knocks them out of the movie!
>As I said before, what would everyone rather see? A woman drinking
>"NO-NAME COLA"? A man eating "CHIPS"?
And then there's the classic "Repo Man," in which *every* food item
was generic, even to the point where when one of the characters says,
"Let's go get a drink," the cans in the liquor store say "DRINK"! It
made an offbeat movie even quirkier!
My problem with product placement is when it's obvious that it's
being done for _product placement_: when someone holds a drink can
awkwardly because they have to be sure the logo is unobstructed, for
instance. *That* jumps out at me. If they could hold the can
naturally, so it's still obvious what it is but doesn't emblazon the
entire logo ten feet high on the screen, I can live with it.
--
Patricia Martin Steward pat...@oz.plymouth.edu
I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is;
I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express senti-
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David Thiel
>In article <C8xI6...@mach1.wlu.ca> brea...@mach1.wlu.ca (breadner ken u) writes:
>>
>>I don't get this. People get all upset about something I never really
>>notice...they claim that product placement knocks them out of the movie!
>>As I said before, what would everyone rather see? A woman drinking
>>"NO-NAME COLA"? A man eating "CHIPS"?
>
>And then there's the classic "Repo Man," in which *every* food item
>was generic, even to the point where when one of the characters says,
>"Let's go get a drink," the cans in the liquor store say "DRINK"! It
>made an offbeat movie even quirkier!
>
>My problem with product placement is when it's obvious that it's
>being done for _product placement_: when someone holds a drink can
>awkwardly because they have to be sure the logo is unobstructed, for
>instance. *That* jumps out at me. If they could hold the can
>naturally, so it's still obvious what it is but doesn't emblazon the
>entire logo ten feet high on the screen, I can live with it.
Agreed. I always used to be bothered by generic products in films, and am
now equally annoyed by *obvious* product placement--with exceptions. The
futuristic gizmos seen in BACK TO THE FUTURE II were even funnier because
they had Black and Decker or Coca-Cola logos plastered all over them, and it
also added a bit of necessary realism to the world of 2015.
Anyone seen RETURN OF THE KILLER TOMATOES? Halfway through the film, the
production crew runs out of money, and threatens to stop right there, until
someone mentions "product placement." They go back to work, and suddenly
there are Pepsi logos on *everything*, including John Astin's back! The
film's heroes subsequently start putting candy bars and other products
right up to the camera lens in the middle of a scene. Very funny stuff.
David Thiel / Traffic Manager Phone: (217) 333-1070
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Jonathan D. Trudel
>
>My problem with product placement is when it's obvious that it's
>being done for _product placement_: when someone holds a drink can
>awkwardly because they have to be sure the logo is unobstructed...
The best movie that has dealt with this has got to be Return of the
Killer Tomatoes. The movie itself was mostly harmless, but...
spoiler lines...
About halfway through the movie, someone off camera yells "CUT!" and
is actually the director who says the film is way over budget, and
unless they find additional funding, they can't continue. So, they
come up with Product Placement.
The rest of the movie goes out of its way to overdo it on the PP.
Where one guy tries to cheer the other up by forcing him to have a
Snickers Bar. It actually made the movie funny.
Richard Grear
which companies have paid for "product-placement" or even provided discounted
products or services in return for a "presence" in the film.
If the "product-placement" detracted (in my opinion) from the quality of the
film, I would know that this company is more concerned with advertising than
with "supporting the arts".
On the other hand, if the presence was subtle, or even humourous, and did not
adversely effect the film, my regard for the company/product may be increased.
Does this make any sence to you?
Richard
rich...@ccm.tds.philips.nl
P.S.
This applies to all forms of sponsership I suppose.
Richard Grear
high preassure / high profile advertising. If I don't like an advertisement
I will make an effort NOT to buy that product - Benneton is one example of
this.
Traditionally America has been labelled as the land of the high preassure sell,
My question is: do the majority of group A B and C americans (or whatever is
your lifestyle grading system - A being a yuppy, C being mid income office
worker for example) still tolerate these styles of selling?
Kenneth Luther
>
>If the "product-placement" detracted (in my opinion) from the quality of the
>film, I would know that this company is more concerned with advertising than
>with "supporting the arts".
>
>On the other hand, if the presence was subtle, or even humourous, and did not
>adversely effect the film, my regard for the company/product may be increased.
>
>Does this make any sence to you?
>
Sure does. It's like what I try to do with TV. I usually won't go
out and buy a product from a company just because of a good commercial,
but I *do* go out of my way to *avoid* buying things from companies
whose commercials are stupid. It's going to be a LONG time before I
ever set foot in a Burger King again, now that they've started this
BKTeevee crap. The message is, "A good commercial might not help your
sales, but bad ones will definitely hurt them." I'm sure no one cries
over the loss of sales to 1 person, but at least I feel better when
I act like this.
The same could be applied to your case of shabby product placement.
I'd also like to start avoiding buying things from companies who show
commercials in theaters before films .... although I'm not sure if
I'd give up my daily can of Coke :-).
------------------------------------------------------------
| My parents went to cyberspace, and all I got |
| was this lousy .sig! |
|Ken Luther, Mathematician Extraordinaire |
|NRL | Washington, DC. 20375 | lut...@abyss.nrl.navy.mil |
------------------------------------------------------------
patrick m. ryan
The award for most amusing product placement has to go to "Wayne's
World". The products were Pizza Hut, Reebok, Nuprin, and Coke (or maybe
Pepsi). The story is that no $$$ changed hands since they were basically
making fun of such placements.
pat
"Wow. This is definitely the kind of place I'm going to get as soon
as I move out of my parents' house." -Wayne
--
patrick m. ryan
nasa / goddard space flight center / oceans and ice branch / hughes stx
p...@jaameri.gsfc.nasa.gov / patrick...@x500.gsfc.nasa.gov
Arnold Kim
I saw RETURN OF THE KILLER TOMATOES....
and that scene with the product placement was one of the funnier scenes
I've seen... I remember the first time I saw it I must have been in the right mood cause I was laughing hard...
Have you seen Killer Tomatoes 3?
I heard it came out of video a while ago... I'd like to see it... cause I
really enjoyed some of the humor in Return of the Killer Tomatoes
(never saw #1 - heard it was BAD)
barry gingrich
>>>I don't get this. People get all upset about something I never really
>>>notice...they claim that product placement knocks them out of the movie!
>>>As I said before, what would everyone rather see? A woman drinking
>>>"NO-NAME COLA"? A man eating "CHIPS"?
The thing I don't like about product placement is the way that it seems
like there's only *one* brand of each product in the movie's world.
Usually, when people in a bar order a beer, they get the *same* beer
that *everybody else* in the bar is drinking. This is also pretty
unrealistic. Having products from the real world is one thing. Making
it stick out and detract from the movie is another.
--
- Barry L.
Ging...@fsl.noaa.gov
JOSEPH ALOYSIUS MCVEIGH
R15...@waccvm.corp.mot.com (Tracey Mason) writes:
>
>What about the classic scene in Wayne's World?
>
>You can't get more obvious than that!
>
Sure you can - "National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon" had outright commercial
pitches by the actors.
--
_______________________________________________________________________________
Joseph Aloysius McVeigh jm...@ns2.cc.lehigh.edu
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Nothing would overnight gain him more trust. He'd quickly come to be known far
and wide as Honest Bill instead of Running-up Bill." - Alan Abelson, Barron's
_______________________________________________________________________________
Marny E. Fisher
>>film, I would know that this company is more concerned with advertising than
>>with "supporting the arts".
>>
>>On the other hand, if the presence was subtle, or even humourous, and did not
>>adversely effect the film, my regard for the company/product may be increased.
>>
>>Does this make any sence to you?
>>
>
>Sure does. It's like what I try to do with TV. I usually won't go
>out and buy a product from a company just because of a good commercial,
>but I *do* go out of my way to *avoid* buying things from companies
>whose commercials are stupid. It's going to be a LONG time before I
>ever set foot in a Burger King again, now that they've started this
>BKTeevee crap. The message is, "A good commercial might not help your
>sales, but bad ones will definitely hurt them." I'm sure no one cries
Possibly nobody would lose sleep over the loss of one consumer's business,
but I think that blatantly stupid commercials influence a lot more than
just one person....however, I am more concerned with commercials which
send not-so-subliminal messages to the unassuming viewer. One sterling
example of this are the Taco Bell commercials which portray the opposition
(Boris Burgers, I believe) as being underhanded left-over stereotypes
from the Red Scare and the Cold War. In addition, at the end of one of
these ridiculous clips, the opposition is tarred and feathered by a
large-biceped, tattoed white man. I can't decide whether the people who
came up with this scenario are ovlivious, tactless, or just plain stupid!!
As a college student, my friends and I seem to always end up at Taco Bell
(Hey--it's cheap :) but now I try to scrape up the extra cents to go
somewhere else.....
I know this doesn't have much to do w/movies, but I just had to reply....
**Marny Fisher (mefisher)** "Is this a kissing book?"
Willamette University --Fred Savage
Salem, OR <<The Princess Bride>>
Lazlo Nibble
> One sterling example of this are the Taco Bell commercials which portray
> the opposition (Boris Burgers, I believe) as being underhanded left-over
> stereotypes from the Red Scare and the Cold War. In addition, at the end
> of one of these ridiculous clips, the opposition is tarred and feathered
> by a large-biceped, tattoed white man. I can't decide whether the people
> who came up with this scenario are ovlivious, tactless, or just plain
> stupid!!
Most likely they just figured that there are enough people out there who
remember the Bullwinkle cartoons that they could take advantage of a
little nostalgia to sell some cheap Mexican fast food.
Context, context.
--
Lazlo (la...@triton.unm.edu)
Eric Mankin
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man
Dan Hartung
>but I think that blatantly stupid commercials influence a lot more than
>just one person....however, I am more concerned with commercials which
>send not-so-subliminal messages to the unassuming viewer. One sterling
>example of this are the Taco Bell commercials which portray the opposition
>(Boris Burgers, I believe) as being underhanded left-over stereotypes
>from the Red Scare and the Cold War. In addition, at the end of one of
>these ridiculous clips, the opposition is tarred and feathered by a
>large-biceped, tattoed white man. I can't decide whether the people who
>came up with this scenario are ovlivious, tactless, or just plain stupid!!
>As a college student, my friends and I seem to always end up at Taco Bell
>(Hey--it's cheap :) but now I try to scrape up the extra cents to go
>somewhere else.....
Hello? <knock knock on camera like Denis Leary> Anyone IN THERE?
Hey, yeah you. Look in your purse. I think you forgot to apply
your sense of humor today. Got it? <click>
Perhaps you will recall Boris and Natasha from the Rocky and Bullwinkle
cartoons... where they WERE underhanded leftover stereotypes from the Red
Scare and the Cold War (which was, then, at its height). Even if you do
not, consider that Taco Bell's message is simply to knock all those
lookalike "burger places" for something different (i.e. Mexican food).
In this context, they are merely generic "bad guys" ....
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Anthony A. Datri
>pitches by the actors.
@i(Wayne's World) spoofs things like that. Jurassic Park actually shows
*it's own* merchandising.
--
======================================================================8--<
George W. Harris
>>Sure you can - "National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon" had outright commercial
>>pitches by the actors.
>
>@i(Wayne's World) spoofs things like that. Jurassic Park actually shows
>*it's own* merchandising.
Ah, but Space Balls beat them all to it. That movie continues to
prove that exagerration as satire is usually remarkably prescient (see also:
Network).
--
gha...@jade.tufts.edu
George W. Harris "He'd kill us if he had the chance."
Dept. of Mathematics
Tufts University The Conversation
Evan Kirshenbaum
Almost, but not quite. _Jurassic Park_ (the movie) shows Jurassic
Park's (the park's) own advertising. The fact that they happen to be
identical is merely one of those weird coincidences :-).
Now, _Spaceballs_ actually showed its own merchandising (which never
materialized). It also talked about its own sequel (_Spaceballs 2:
The Search for More Money_), and showed scenes from itself.
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
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3500 Deer Creek Road, Building 26U | C: Well, we're all a little hostile
Palo Alto, CA 94304 | now and then. Some of us are able
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Edward Peschko
>In article <C8xI6...@mach1.wlu.ca> brea...@mach1.wlu.ca (breadner ken u) writes:
>>
>>I don't get this. People get all upset about something I never really
>>notice...they claim that product placement knocks them out of the movie!
>>As I said before, what would everyone rather see? A woman drinking
>>"NO-NAME COLA"? A man eating "CHIPS"?
>And then there's the classic "Repo Man," in which *every* food item
>was generic, even to the point where when one of the characters says,
>"Let's go get a drink," the cans in the liquor store say "DRINK"! It
>made an offbeat movie even quirkier!
Well... yes.... except at the beginning when Kevin (Otto's (ie: E. Estevez's))
annoying friend sings the Seven-Up theme song.... I wonder if Alex Cox actually
got permission for doing that, seeing that it made seven-up look so damn ridiculous.
Ed
Nieznany
>
> In <1993Jun21....@oz.plymouth.edu> pat...@oz.plymouth.edu (Pat Steward) writes:
>
> >In article <C8xI6...@mach1.wlu.ca> brea...@mach1.wlu.ca (breadner ken u) writes:
> >>
> >>I don't get this. People get all upset about something I never really
> >>notice...they claim that product placement knocks them out of the movie!
> >>As I said before, what would everyone rather see? A woman drinking
> >>"NO-NAME COLA"? A man eating "CHIPS"?
>
'generic' beer bottles and try to get them placed. A character (not Norm)
was drinking a bottled beer, and I cried 'He's drinking a Coors!" I looked
more closely, and saw that the label actually read 'Beer', but the can
design art was exactly that of Coors (almond yellow can, waterfall, etc..)
Couldn't this be done for movies, especially in the more gratuitous shots?
Or would it not help? (I've also seen 'Bud' style longnecks on Cheers. Just
as recognizable as the real thing.)
When I saw Twins, we were given cards to fill out with those products we
recognized being placed. Remember DeVito stocking the car for the trip?
He had 6 packs of Coke and bags of Lays potato chips. Remember how he
made Lean Cuisine (I believe) microwave lasagna for Arnie? The list
went on and on.....
Jon jmho...@aplcomm.jhuapl.edu
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Joe Nappa
placement of Dunkin' Donuts was just over the top -- to the
point where it was plain silly. OK Lenny the Liquidator likes
donuts, he likes a particular brand and says so but the donut
boxes with brand name prominent have just too much exposure. And
if that isn't enough we see, totally gratuitously, a truck
trailer with Dunkin' Donuts in 6 foot high letters painted on it.
I guess this practice all ties in with Lenny's philosophy
regarding making money using other people's money: advertise
products to people and get them to pay to see the ads.
BTW some respondents to this thread have said that the product
placement in such-and-such a movie couldn't have been too gross
because "I can't remember what the product was". Well, I'm afraid
this process also works sublimnally: the subconscious takes on
board a lot more than the conscious, and many of our purchase
decisions are influenced by our subconscious. Vance Packard's
classic "The Hidden Persuaders" outlines this process in detail.
--
Joe Nappa *Lisa: "These talking dinosaurs are more real than *
j...@archsci.arch.su.edu.au * most real families on TV" *
Dept. of Architec. Science *Bart: "It's like they saw our lives & put it right*
Uni. of Sydney, AUSTRALIA * up on screen" (from Fox's "The Simpsons") *
Murray Chapman
>Saw Danny DeVito's "Other Peoples Money" the other day, and its
>placement of Dunkin' Donuts was just over the top -- to the
>point where it was plain silly.
Ha. You should have watched channel 10 instead of channel 9.
_Hot Shots_ was on, and there was a scene at the end where
*spoiler*
Topper has just landed his jet after saving the world, etc, and is asked
by a voice-over what he is going to do with his money. He replies "Go to
Disneyland!", and then you see a suit handing him a large wad of cash.
>j...@archsci.arch.su.edu.au * most real families on TV" *
Murray
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