It's a Britney Pitch!

Full disclosure: when was just a young lad I had a major crush on Britney Spears. I thought she was

"I"ll never tell, tell on myself, but I hope she buys my perfume." :)

awesome. Very attractive, and I was about 15 when she came on the scene. I was going to marry that girl. Unfortunately a few people beat me to the punch. I still love Britney. She is no stranger to endorsements. When I was 16 and could drive I went to 7-11 with my friend Shawn Haynes to get the official Britney Spears World Tour Poster and Cup Brought to you by Pepsi…for those who think young. In fact I still have that poster in my closet along with all of my Britney memorabilia. I’d never admit this on my professional blog, but you can still catch me jamming to Ms. Spears on my iPod whilst driving to work. I don’t really watch videos anymore. Unless someone has mounted a wrecking ball I probably won’t watch it. I come from a time when Carson Daily would tell me what videos to watch. Since that channel sticks to teen pregnancy now, I’ll just listen to music instead of watching. However, a recent Buzzfeed article opened my eyes to a fairly recent video by Ms. Spears. Let’s just say it’s a bit of a “circus.”

The article showed scenes from every video in which Britney used perfume. As her song “Perfume” was stuck in my head that day..and every day since then, I thought I’d give it a click. The number one gif on that list was from “Hold it Against Me.” A great song. I downloaded it legally through me on my iPhone and really enjoy it. The video as a whole is a neat concept. It has everything: Britney fighting evil Britney, Technicolor Dream Coats, and Ms. Spears dancing in front of a wall of former Britney videos. Oh, it also has a metric ton of product placement. Let’s examine what is seen in this video.

First of all you see Britney with a bottle of her signature perfume. Not a problem right? I want Britney to wear her signature scent…that way I can buy for my girlfriend and play make believe. But…holy super zoom Batman! We get an extreme close up of that bottle. A little unnecessary, but ok. We need to be able to see the name so as to purchase it later at Macy’s. This really sets the tone for the rest of the video. There are extreme close ups of several other products. I was not sure at one point if I was watching a video or a very long over-produced commercial…with lots of paint.

The next product is some kind of makeup. I don’t know much about makeup. It looks like something for your eyes. I did not see a brand on it, but I still think its product placement. It could be from her line, or Lorea’l, but I don’t think she endorses them anymore.  All I know is we got an extreme close up. So yay unidentified makeup product.

I am writing this blog on a Toshiba laptop. “The official unofficial technology partner of Label Out.” I am surprised I was able to watch the “Hold it Against Me” video though. The reason is simple. Sony computers and televisions appear at least 20 times in this thing. That includes the extreme close up you see to the left. That picture is from the actual video. I did not crop it or zoom. A little in your face Britney Jean. While I have some issues with how blatant these logos appear in the video, it is acceptable because Britney is an RCA Recording Artist. RCA Records is owned by Sony-BMG, and they would not put any other TV, computer or camera in their video.

The worst party foul comes from a little dating site that is in this video. No not Christian Mingle, but

rather Plenty of Fish. Here is the thing. This website appears in the video so many times that its ridiculous. I mean season nine of “The Office” ridiculous! But she uses a Sony computer to access the site.  First of all it’s CANADIAN! Second of all, let’s pretend Britney Spears uses a dating site…do you think she would use the RC Cola of dating sites? Probably not. Also, why would Britney use a dating site? Also, look at her past. Hey girl, if you go on Plenty of Fish you can such winners as KFed. And that poor fella she married and divorced quicker than it took me to watch season 2 of “Orange is the New Black.” Overall the video is a cool concept executed poorly by some questionable product placement.

In her second video ever, Britney appeared next to a BMW that had a blacked out logo. Oh if young Britney could look into the future and see what has occurred in almost two decades? I still Love Ms. Spears. I grew up with her music. (I am honest enough to admit that.) I simply prefer a video lie “Everytime” that is much more honest.

Jurassic World knocks product placement out of the "park."

Because Hummers are so 2002!

If you read my very first post on this blog, then you know that when I was a wee lad the film Jurassic Park is what made me first start noticing product placement in films. While I still don’t own that Ford Explorer, my love for product place is still strong. While a lot of people are concerned with the plot of the films, the dinosaurs that are appearing, and even the cast, I am more concerned with what products are going to be destroyed by a T-Rex who is having a bad day. Well, Pics of Jurassic World are starting to surface, and this young fella has a lot to look forward too.

The most important aspect to any product placement is the car tie-in. The first Jurassic Park had two versions of this placed in the film. The Ford Explorer as we know was prominent in the film as well as the Jeep Wrangler. Both were executed well. In the second film we saw the debut of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class. While it was a pretty

cool car, it was not really practical for the film. The third film had no vehicle placement and was thus awful. In this new installment we are visited by an old friend, Pics have surfaced of the original Jeep Wrangler being used in this film. Rumor has it the characters go back to the original visitor’s center at some point. So, cool, the Wrangler is back. However, a former brand partner comes back in like a wrecking ball in the form of a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon, and the “beyond ridiculous” Mercedes-Benz G63 6x6. The G-Wagon is a classic SUV from the German automaker. It’s classy and cool. The 6x6 however is what happens when a car is inspired by overcompensation.   While both cars are pretty cool, it really does not make sense that they are in the film. The G Wagon is about $100,000. The 6x6 is about $400.000. Now the plot of this film is that the park is now functional but struggling to keep its doors open. Perhaps they could save some money by not buying company cars that are nearly half a million bucks. So, I would count this as a loss for the product placement scale.

I do wonder what is under that tape.

Last night pics surfaced of the Jurassic World brochure that guests would receive upon entering the park. From what I can tell there are no fewer than four brands represented on this brochure. Those brands include FedEx Office, Coca-Cola, Samsung, and Starbucks. Wow, product placement overload. Let’s quickly examine these brand partners.

Coke: Honestly this makes the most sense. This is a theme park after all. Any realistic tourist venue, especially a theme park, would have an official soft drink partner. If you've

ever been to a place like Six Flags, or even a football stadium, you see their logos everywhere. Thankfully

Coke is the partner here, and not those skanks from Pepsi. (Just kidding.)

Starbucks: It makes sense. Pretentious people go to theme parks too, and they crave overpriced coffee. Recently I was at a NASCAR race and they so much more than just beer and hot dogs. So this once again makes sense that a Starbucks would be in the park.

Samsung: A technology partner at a futuristic theme park where dinosaurs escape seems logical to me. I like the choice of Samsung over Apple as I personally have a Galaxy Note 3. It’s the unofficial official phone of this blog.

FedEx Office: I will call this one a bit of a stretch. The front of the brochure reads “Printed at FedEx Office.” I love FedEx, and have not been in an Office

Starbucks, so Raptors can write bad movies. 

store since they were Kinko’s, but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t handle the industrial type of printing required for a massive theme park. I may be wrong though.
Note: There may be a brand partner in the form of a atv side by side, but I could not tell from the photos. I was not able to make out any logos, but it may be a Polaris. If so, it would be pretty fetch. The vehicle looks awesome.

I’m willing to bet this is just the surface of the Jurassic World brand partners. (Maybe I should say just the “Galaxy Tab” of brand partners as Microsoft makes the surface.) Anyway, expect at least a fast food chain, my guess is McDonalds, but Burger King did the Lost World after McDonalds was with the first. I’d also guess that someone like Under Armour or Nike would be in this film. It would work as a park uniform or something along those lines. After all, Chris Pratt did not lose all that weight for nothing.

Overall I am really excited for the film, and all of the official products I can buy in just under a year. 

Z is for Zombie, P is for Pepsi; the Product Placement of World War Z

It’s been way too long since I wrote about my favorite subject, so I do apologize. However, I have

seen so many films in the past several weeks that I should have a ton of material to talk about. Tonight I am going to discuss the product placement in World War Z.

First of all, I, like every other nerd in America, love the zombie genre. This Brad Pitt film was one summer blockbuster I had on my list all year long. I can honestly say that the film, as a whole, was good. However, that is not what this blog is about. So what about the product placement? (There will be no spoilers in this post.)

Overall, the film does not blow you away with its brand partners. This is a sharp contrast to the last film I viewed in theaters, Man of Steel, which, for the second time in one, made me overdose on product placement. Man of Steel will be the next film I discuss and the blog after that will discuss Last Stand. Both were just plain ridiculous. Stay tuned for those in the weeks to come. Getting back on track, the product placement started early in World War Z. If you have seen any trailer for the film, you know that the excitement starts in the family station wagon…a Volvo. Surprisingly enough, I don’t believe this was product placement. The reasons are a plenty. First of all, it is not a new Volvo. Volvo North America has not made a new station wagon in this country for several years. This is of course with the exception of the XC70, and the vehicle featured was not an XC70. Also, the car is involved in an accident, and only two airbags deploy. The car was hit from multiple angles. Volvo was among the first to offer side impact and side curtain

airbags because they pride themselves on safety. If Volvo had paid to be in this film, they would not have allowed this happen. The final way we can rule Volvo out as a brand partner is that there were several other vehicles displayed throughout the film.

A company that actually was involved as a partner was Capital One. They have a history of advertising with the dead. (I am sure you have all seen Alec Baldwin do their commercials before.) This time it was done well. They simply appeared on the top of a cab during a scene on the streets of Philadelphia. I would never walk down the streets of Philly, but I am sure if I did, I could see a cab with this on it.

When product placement is done well, it can help enhance a film by replicating real life. We all have products we like, and we all see advertisements in our everyday lives. If you were to go into a bar, there is a good chance you would buy a Budweiser. Though I do not frequent clubs often, I am pretty sure I have never seen a can with the word “beer” on it. There is usually a brand name on it…even if it is Natural Light. A situation like this occurs in World War Z. A soldier hands Brad Pitt a beer, and it is a Budweiser. Seems like it could happen in real life. Though I doubt Angelina Jolie allows him to drink regular beer. Because of, you know, all of those empty calories.

Now, I stated earlier that this film did product placement well, for the most part. There was one thing I took issue with, and it was committed by one of my favorite companies, Pepsi. I recall that Pepsi, and it’s other brands, occur three times in the film, with two of the instances occurring in crucial parts of the film. The first situation takes place onboard an aircraft carrier. The leader of the UN is talking to Brad Pitt via satellite phone. The UN guy is on the carrier and behind him you can see huge cases of Aquafina. For those of you who may not know, Aquafina is the water brand for Pepsi. On the outside of the cases are big full color signs that feature the Aquafina logo…in full color. This would never happen in real life. As a former grocery store employee, I know that companies do not ship their products with full color labels. These would never be seen by customers in real life, and they would cost way too much to make. Further, I believe these logos were added digitally after the film had shot principal photography. (This kind of thing happens a lot now.) The reason I believe this is that the logos were really out of place, they would be easy to add, and at one point in the film, the characters on board the ship are drinking water from the onboard water supply. One character even comments that it tastes like jet fuel. If there were cases of Aquafina on board, wouldn’t they be drinking that instead of the jet fuel water?

I have to be brief about the other two instances because of the role they play in the film. At one point, when they characters are supposed to be quiet, a gentleman kicks a can of Mountain Dew, and it slowly rolls across the floor. The camera focuses on this for a short period, and then when the can hits the salad bar, it stops label out…perfectly showing the Mountain Dew logo.

With less than 5 minutes to go in the film, Brad Pitt goes through the same cafeteria as before and stops by a Pepsi machine, which was opened for some reason, grabs a refreshing can, and releases the others from captivity so as to generate noise. Once again the camera focuses on this for more than enough time. It was a bit much to take.

Once again, the film as a whole is good, and the product placement wasn’t too bad. If you like zombies it will hold you over until the new season of The Walking Dead starts this fall.

*It was not until I started looking for photos for the blog that I remembered Royal Purple being placed in this film. There is a scene that takes place in supermarket in New Jersey. Brad Pitt is involved in a shootout the store and he just happens to be standing in front of a makeshift rack of Royal Purple motor oil. This is not a huge oil company when compared to Pennzoil or Valvoline. There is a slim chance this product would be carried in a grocery store, and I find it very hard to believe it would take up as much space as the Nabisco section in a store. Royal Purple has been doing this a lot lately. Here is a link to a case study that shows the return on investment after they appeared in a music video. I'll stick with Peak. Because when you Peak, you win.

On a side note, I was drinking a nice refreshing Pepsi cola during this film. The cup was red white and blue, featuring gigantic Pepsi globes and the Pepsi name was prominent on it. If my life were a movie it would look pretty blatant. However, it was real life. It’s not all bad.

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.