Kill a Bunch of Zombies and Drive Off In a Hyundai; How The Walking Dead Does Product Placement Right!

Me and My Buddy!

Hi, my name is Jon, and I am a Walking Dead fan. I have watched the show since episode 1, debate “what if” situations with my best friend Jeremy for hours, and I will pretty much buy anything Walking Dead related. (From a boy who writes blogs about product placement, that really shouldn’t surprise anyone.) Today’s blog will focus on my favorite character. Many people will assume my favorite character is Daryl. I will admit I am a huge fan boy of his, even met Norman Reedus at a Con, but he is not number 1 in my book. Oh, so it must be Andrea, the former Civil Rights Attorney with more daddy issues than an orphanage. Nope. I love the character, but it’s not her. Shane maybe? I am drawn to his bad boy personality and how the only rules he plays by are his own, but he’s dead now, so it’s not him either. My favorite character is the 2011 Metallic Green Hyundai Tucson! Yup, it’s a car, it is product placement, and I love it!

Why hello ladies!

As a fan of product placement, I am always paying attention to the cars in a show or movie. Hyundai and The Walking Dead have made it very clear that the placement of the Tucson is intentional. When I first saw this little green crossover utility vehicle in episode one of season 2, I was skeptical. I thought to myself, “here we go.” But I have been proven wrong. Hyundai and the producers of the Walking Dead have not made this car blatant. The only time I rolled my eyes was when the character of Dale says to Shane “You got that nice new car…” since then the dialogue hasn’t been about the car. Just like they never refer to walkers as Zombies, they never call the car a Hyundai.

We can admit that the show handles the car well, but is it right for me to call the Tucson a character. While it never has any dialoged (the last car I saw talking was Lightning McQueen,) the car does play a vital part in the series. The Tucson is where Shane and Andrea first did naughty things, it’s the vehicle that saved Maggie and Glen from the farm and it’s been involved in several zombie murders. It is the main form of transport during the show, and many key scenes take place in this little car. In fact, almost every character has had a scene in which they were driving it, or riding in it in the past two seasons. It is a part of the show.

 

The Tucson has an update coming. This likely means that it will be written out of the show soon. If this day comes I will be sadder then when Merle Dixon was killed this season. Ask the people I watch the show with, I love seeing that car on screen. If it does not appear in an episode I get upset, if it is involved in an action scene I get worried. It is no General Lee or KITT, but this car makes the show more fun for me. I like this product placement so much; I made a parody video of it! (See it here.) I hope Hot Wheels makes a version of it soon. Until then I get a little excited every time I see one on the road, an if it’s green, I check to see if there is a sheriff behind the wheel.

Hyundai and The Walking Dead prove that product placement can be done properly. I hope more people follow their lead.

 

I Better Not Lose My Rav-4 Over This!

I dreamed a dream in time gone by...

When I was in high school I wanted a Dodge Viper more than anything else in this world. It was fast, stylish and exotic….kind of like Sofia Vergara but the Viper isn’t as loud. I found that most kids my age also wanted exotic cars like that, especially if you were a male. Girls on the other hand wanted Volkswagen Beetles, and Mitsubishi Eclipses. At that age, teenagers don’t want practical vehicles. They want cool cars, fun cars, stuff that looks good. Though it has been 10 years since I was in high school, I don’t think things have changed much.

Imagine my surprise when I was watching “Hart of Dixie” last week and-maybe I should explain why I was watching “Hart of Dixie.” Last week I was watching “Talking Dead” and Scott Porter formerly of “Friday Night Lights” was the guest. He is an uber nerd and a “man crush” may or may not have developed. But mostly did. He was talking about being on this show, and that’s when I decided to check it out. Turns out it is nothing like the Walking Dead. There is not one Zombie in the entire show! But what I did like in the show was the blatant product placement.

Is it a Rav-4 or a Rava?

In this particular episode two of the young female characters are trying to get their father to break up with his new young fling. To throw the youngest one off the father and the harlot buy her an all-new 2014 Toyota Rav-4! It is center screen for a short while and she is even seen making a phone call from the hands free Bluetooth device. When she finished the call, she hangs up, they focus on the dash and the character says “neat” in a squeaky voice. That’s not a standard feature so they must really want to buy her love. Later on the other daughter finds out, gets upset, and decides to-you know what, it’s not important. I actually quit paying attention at this point. But, what brought me back was the mention of the Rav-4 later on in the episode. The daughter who received it said to the other “I better not lose my Rav-4 over this…you can order movie tickets right form the dash!”

You may be put off by the dialogue, or the fact that they were openly selling a car to young idiots, but these things didn’t bother me. What put me off was the type of car being sold, and this brings us to the Spurlock Effect.

The Spurlock Effect refers to those products placed in a film or TV Show that don’t fit the character or the audience in which the show intends to reach. In his 2011 film “Pom Wonderful Presents the Greatest Movie Ever Sold,” Morgan Spurlock discusses the product that inspired his film. In the show Heroes, one of the main characters was given a Nissan Rouge as a gift. Once again this is a teenage girl being given an older persons car. That’s not fair to older people; no one really wants a Rouge. Even Sarah Palin, who made a life of “goin rouge”, thinks they are pretentious. So, why would teenagers, who are concerned with image, want a car that is intended for people with families?

To better understand the “Spurlock Effect,” Consider these fictional examples: one would never expect to see the Golden Girls drinking Monster Energy Drinks. We also wouldn’t expect to Justin Bieber to “pimp” ensure in his latest video.

I understand that Toyota has a new car, and they need to get the word out. The Rav-4 is a great car and I have no problem with it being placed in the show. (After all, I love product placement.)The problem is that because of how absurd this is, it takes away from the show. Why not give this young girl a Scion FR-S? After all, Scion is Toyota’s youth brand. The FR-S is a fun four cylinder sports car that would be a lot more in touch with a shallow teenager. (That is how she is described in the show, not my words.) I also understand that the Rav-4 is the newest model from Toyota, so why not give it to the father, or one of the older members of the cast. Remember, people like that are the ones who buy the Rav-4.

The Spurlock Effect shows us that improper product placement can ruin a show. At the end of the day, the Nissan Rouge inspired an entire film from Morgan Spurlock. The Rav-4 inspired me to write this blog. Neither one of us can probably tell you anything else about the episodes we watched. (I do recall that I thought Scott Porter was definitely ready for leading man roles and that if Rachel Bilson and Valerie Bertinelli were in the room I may be incapacitated.)

Product placement can work, but either the writers, or Toyota, did not care of enough to try harder to make this work. Product placement works because it reflects real life. Little girls aren’t given Rav-4’s; they are given teal Pontiac Sunfires because their parents want them to experience disappointment at an early age. When the product placement takes away from the show, it takes away from real life and thus takes away from the suspension of disbelief. I’m just a simple boy from West Virginia and I know that.

So, I'll Be Able to Buy a New Oldsmobile in 2032?

This a supplement to the blog I wrote last night in which I talked about how much trouble Demolition Man had securing a brand partner because of their violent film. Since Demolition Man is such a great film, I wanted to examine a few of the things they didn’t get right.



One Please!

First of all, General Motors was a huge brand partner with this film. The General provided a lot of futuristic cars for this film. The Ultralite which is pictured here was a concept car for GM, and was featured in several other films, including Bicentennial Man. At the time, the General had several brands that aren’t around today. Keeping in mind that this film takes place in 2032, or the future if you will, there was something they definitely got wrong. At one point in the film, in the underground society, three of the main characters find a mint condition 1970 Oldsmobile 442. (One of my favorite cars ever!) Through use of some sort of makeshift elevator, the Classic Olds is thrust through the floor of an all new Oldsmobile dealership. The Oldsmobile brand was shutdown in 2004. That is 28 years before this movie takes place. I wish they weren’t wrong about the brand in the future, they had some great models.



Who has more rubber, Sly or the car?

Of course, the Filmmakers couldn’t really see the brand shutting down a decade after the film was made. Of course they should have suspected something when all Oldsmobile cars shared platforms and body styles with 5 other makes. However, the one thing the filmmakers should have realized is that there is no way Taco Bell would be the only restaurant in the future. At the time Demolition Man was made, Taco Bell was owned by Tricon Global (Now Yum Brands). Tricon global also owned KFC and Pizza Hut. If Taco Bell is the only restaurant to survive the Franchise Wars wouldn’t their parent companies other brands have survived as well? And honestly, out of the three brands Tricon Global Owned, I’m pretty sure Pizza Hut or KFC would have fared a little better than Taco Bell. In fact, in international versions of the film, Pizza hut is used as opposed to Taco Bell because at the time, there were fewer international Taco bell locations.

Anyway, this was all in fun. Just a few little observations about this film I love so dear. Maybe I am wrong and Oldsmobile is brought back from the dead. (It happened to Family Guy.) If so, I better start saving money now for my all new 2032 Olds 442.

"I'm Shameless; the Shameless attempt to validate Shameless product placement in Showtime's Shameless."



Taco Bell Logo from Demolition Man

The coolest thing happened at work the other day; I found someone who likes Demolition Man as much as I do! That is rare! For those of you who don’t know, Demolition Man is a 1993 action film starring Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, and Sandra Bullock. The film takes place 30 years after 1996 in a newly formed utopian society in the area formerly known as Los Angeles. The film is very campy and fun for all of the wrong reasons, but it also extremely violent. The film is rated R for violence language and sexual situations. Anyone who has seen the film can tell you one of the most memorable parts of the film is that Taco Bell is the only restaurant to survive the “franchise wars” in the future. In other words, every restaurant in the future is a Taco Bell…even the fancy ones. Product placement in its finest form. Though I will say it is kind of subtle. Anyway, what many people do not realize is that Taco Bell almost pulled out of being a brand partner in this film because they did not want to be associated with such a violent film. In the director’s commentary, he speaks about how Yum Brands (Tricon Global at the time) was very upset about the R rating. My how things have changed since 1993.

It’s now 2013 and while we are only 10 years away from that utopian society that Demolition Man promised us, we are seeing a lot more product placement in controversial entertainment. No place is this more evident the Viacom’s little sin bucket Showtime. What Viacom lacks in quality on CBS, they more than make up for it by producing great shows on Showtime. Shameless, Dexter, and Nurse Jackie, are all shows that I love, and will be discussing over a series of blogs. All three of them make Demolition Man seem like The Sound of Music as far as sex, violence, or drugs is concerned.

Shameless is actually a really great show. However, I understand that a lot of people may not like it because of the crass content and extreme language nudity and situations. At the end of the day it is really about family loyalty and being there for each other, just like Full House was, except Danny Tanner never pretended his dead mother was alive so that he could continue getting her government checks. But, what Shameless does have that Full House didn’t is product placement. General mills has been there quite regularly, but while researching this blog (i.e. watching the show) I saw placement that made me laugh too much. When the main characters love interest is trying to convince her to leave her brothers and sisters for a life of luxury, we see a bottle of snuggle in the background. Irony if I have ever seen it. Snuggle is owned by Sun Products which also makes Wisk laundry detergent. This is also visible in the series. This appears to be a deliberate product placement as all of the other labels in this scene are turned around. Let’s now look at one that might not be deliberate.

Later in this same episode we see one of the main characters and his boyfriend sneaking around a convenience store in which they work so that they may engage in intercourse in a manner in which the security cameras cannot view them. As the two characters mate if you will, they are not on screen instead the camera pans across the aisle in front of them showing a bunch of products we can’t make out, and one that we can; Luzianne Tea. In fact the camera stays on this product as the characters make whoopee. The Luzianne Website, which was not accessible during the writing of this blog, claims that they are “family owned since 1902.” Chances are that a company that has a slogan that involves the word “family” would not want to be placed in this show. Especially in the scene I described above. It is possible that the director decided to use this product to show the contrast of what traditional family values are compared to that of our modern society, but I am probably reading too much into this. It is also a possibility that this was just a practical location and that is just what happened to be on the shelf. I do plan on contacting the company when their website is back up and seeing what they have to say.

Overall, it is interesting that companies are willing to become brand partners with these shows, but it may just work. I’m not here to say if it’s good or bad, but it does make you think. As a supplement to this blog, I am going to write a small piece tomorrow about the things Demolition Man got wrong. The next official blog post will be this Sunday and it will be titled “This better not affect my Rav4; examining the Spurlock effect in the Hart of Dixie.” Just a warning, it will be long. Thanks for reading. I’m going to end this night by watching Nashville and getting and ice cold (insert soda name here.)

I Heart Product Placement; My Origin Story

"You've never had Chex Mix."

Why would anyone actually enjoy product placement? Does seeing Sammy Brady go on about Chex Mix really make you happy? No wonder you’re single. These questions and statements are things I come across when I explain to strangers that I have a hobby…called product placement. So, just like that mouthy girl who played Blossom, I have an opinion that is different than the majority, so I will write a condescending blog about that topic. The only thing is, mine will actually have a little research behind it.

While I’d like to start right off on the reasons Hyundai being placed in The Walking Dead is the real reason I like the show, or how I learned from 90210 that it is an official rule of road trips to consume Dr. Pepper, we must start at the beginning…my origin story if you will. (Wink Face)

I was brought up in a house full of individuals who loved cars. My father was a “GM man” his entire life, and if it weren’t for his Trans Am, I probably wouldn’t be here today. (My mom also liked cars.) My sister is about as diehard as they come in the world of Jeeps. She has owned five of them, and is not likely to give up on the brand anytime soon.

I just like a car that runs. Maybe in the future I will be able to buy a cool car, but for now it’s all about practicality for me. However, as a father’s son, I too liked all things General Motors. This all changed with my first real experience with product placement. When I was nine a little film called Jurassic Park debuted in theaters. Adults loved it, kids loved it, and I of course loved it. To this day Jurassic Park is a film I love. I can quote it line for line, and even reenact scenes with my good friend Shawn.  

Granted, in 1993, a lot of kids liked this film. It had real live dinosaurs for crying out loud! Here’s the thing about dinosaurs; if they were so great they’d still be around today. Guess what, they aren’t! But what is still around is the 1992 Ford Explorer. If you watched even a little part of this film you will know that the Explorer was featured heavily, or “placed” in the film. (In the book they had Land Rovers. To be fair, those characters were a lot more pretentious.) Rumor has it that Steven Spielberg owned an Explorer at the time and wanted it in the film. Ford wrote the check, sent them a plethora, and the rest is history.

I wanted that car! From the moment I saw the first trailer, until the time my Mommy bought me the toy version, I wanted that car. My aunt Cindy even made me an awesome birthday cake based on the Explorer. Keep in mind; I hated Fords at the time. They were the enemy, and every person who drove a Ford was an idiot. (I may have been a pre-teen, but I was very perceptive at that age and knew not to judge people on their character, but on their material possessions.) In an instant, by placing that vehicle in a film full of reptiles, Newman from Seinfeld, and a pre-prime of her career Laura Dern, my opinion of Ford had Changed. (Owning a Ford product since then has reverted me back to my old way of thinking.)

I guess that is what product placement is all about. I couldn’t buy an Explorer back then, and thank whatever deity that may claim life that I couldn’t. Explorers are junk! They are horrible off road, they crave fuel like Ashley Judd Craves attention, and their transmissions are put together with hopes and dreams. To top it off, you couldn’t even get one with that gigantic Plexiglas roof. All that being said, I still want one.

So, it’s now 20 years since the original Jurassic Park came out. Number four will be released in 2014. As this blog continues, we will examine how the Jurassic Park placement was an anomaly, and even examine the sequels. For now though, I thought it was important for everyone to know why I am the way I am. Since this film I have loved product placement. It makes me smile and enjoy films and TV more.

My next blog will be called Subway Eat Fresh in the face of Danger. Look for it on Wednesday.