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General discussionDoes product placement bother you?(56 posts)(56 posts)
(56 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted December 29, 2023
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SCPM: I think I mostly find it too noticeable or weird when it's just one brand being hammered in, or if the placement is too in-your-face.
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HunchBluntley: That's the thing: it's not the whether, but the how that matters with product placement.

An example from a series I've seen a lot of in the last year or two: car placement in some episodes of Burn Notice. It's just a little too obvious what's going on, and, while the show is not the most serious overall, it would need to be quite a bit goofier still to get me to swallow advertising that unsubtle without a grimace and/or eye roll. It's definitely not the worst product placement I've seen (though I can't think what would be), but it's near the bottom end of what I would consider tolerable.
See, this is the kind of stuff I just don't notice at all. I've seen the first two seasons of Burn Notice relatively recently, and not once did I ever realise they were doing that. Probably because I don't know the first thing about cars.
Post edited December 29, 2023 by Breja
Posted December 29, 2023
Well, people pay to watch a movie about Barbie and Transformers, so how much product placement do you want?
Posted December 29, 2023
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ReynardFox: In fact, sometimes real product placement (in movies especially) actually adds to the believability, like the giant neon Coca Cola billboards in Bladerunner.

If anything I tend to notice fakey product advertising in games far more.
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PixelBoy: Yes, there's nothing more annoying than those fake cola brands in the PC version of Shenmue, as they can't use real Coca-Cola logos for some reason.
If you want to use a real brand, you're beholden to the owners of that brand regarding how their product may be used, what they want it associated with, how much and in what way it should be focused on, and so on. Using real-world brands can lend greater verisimilitude to a work, but it can also lessen the creators' freedom.
Also, depending on the product's owning company and what they think of the film, game, etc., that someone wants to use that product in, the company may well want money for their product to be able to be shown (assuming they're okay with it being used in that project at all), rather than offering money for it being "advertised" therein.
Post edited December 29, 2023 by HunchBluntley
Posted December 29, 2023
LOL this topic reminds of this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYqSUJq3vqo

Anyways, most product placements I've seen are background stuff that I easily overlook.
Post edited December 30, 2023 by SpaceMadness
Posted December 29, 2023
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HunchBluntley: That's the thing: it's not the whether, but the how that matters with product placement.

An example from a series I've seen a lot of in the last year or two: car placement in some episodes of Burn Notice. It's just a little too obvious what's going on, and, while the show is not the most serious overall, it would need to be quite a bit goofier still to get me to swallow advertising that unsubtle without a grimace and/or eye roll. It's definitely not the worst product placement I've seen (though I can't think what would be), but it's near the bottom end of what I would consider tolerable.
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Breja: See, this is the kind of stuff I just don't notice at all. I've seen the first two seasons of Burn Notice relatively recently, and not once did I ever realise they were doing that. Probably because I don't know the first thing about cars.
I don't know much about cars myself; I wouldn't say such knowledge has anything to do with this.
When, during a car chase (or some other car-based action) sequence, the narrator's talking about how, for such-and-such maneuver, you need certain handling and braking characteristics, or so much power, or whatever, and the camera then does some close-up shots on the very front of the car, with the manufacturer badge front-and-center (and maybe sometimes the rear as well, where the model name usually lives), it's kind of hard to escape the conclusion that that was some "promotional consideration" being transacted. (I'm pretty sure this, legally, has to be disclosed somewhere in the credits as well, though--by this era of TV--the closing credits zipped by so fast--and I usually pay so little attention after the extended cast credits--that I probably mostly missed any such disclosures. Of course, I watched the show a fair bit when it first aired on USA Network, and any auto sponsorship was probably made even more obvious by the fact that the same car brand(s) had ads during the commercial breaks as well. :) )
Posted December 29, 2023
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BreOl72: Sigh
If it's not "for real stuff", it's not product placement.
Congratulations. You pulled a sentence out of content and found something obvious. And you know how to use the bold and italic tag. I am so proud of you.
Posted December 29, 2023
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Strijkbout: Well, people pay to watch a movie about Barbie and Transformers, so how much product placement do you want?
...And Air Jordans, and the "Flamin' Hot" Cheetos flavor....
Posted December 29, 2023
Yes, but mainly because I'm a filthy communist who shops at Aldi in the first place and the presence of brands tends to turn media properties into not only a galling corporate cheer leading session, but a ticking time bomb.

Oh, I'd like to watch this show on streaming, but I can't because they made the mistake of featuring a discontinued bag of crisps on screen, and one of the joyless marketers rejected the proposal because they don't want to confuse customers.

Another example: JJ Abrams Lensflare Trek movies have a baffling Nokia reference at the start, which begs a few questions about the future, and shows a credible lack of writing acumen from the whole production crew:
If we're to assume that the Kevinverse follows a loose timeline similar to the Prime universe, then World War III occurred. There shouldn't be a Nokia to exist. Either as a result of the war, the passage of time between <now> and the 2200s, or the folding of the communications into the global communications network, as the UFP and Starfleet were both well established by the time.
Post edited January 06, 2024 by Darvond
Posted December 29, 2023
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Breja: See, this is the kind of stuff I just don't notice at all. I've seen the first two seasons of Burn Notice relatively recently, and not once did I ever realise they were doing that. Probably because I don't know the first thing about cars.
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HunchBluntley: I don't know much about cars myself; I wouldn't say such knowledge has anything to do with this.
When, during a car chase (or some other car-based action) sequence, the narrator's talking about how, for such-and-such maneuver, you need certain handling and braking characteristics, or so much power, or whatever, and the camera then does some close-up shots on the very front of the car, with the manufacturer badge front-and-center (and maybe sometimes the rear as well, where the model name usually lives), it's kind of hard to escape the conclusion that that was some "promotional consideration" being transacted.
And you're very likely right. It's just that I'm so oblivious to those manufacturer badges they're literally meaningless to me so the product placement slips by me. At least my obliviousness about this is what I usually attribute it to, but maybe, like I said, I'm just not observant enough to notice the connection you mentioned.
Posted December 29, 2023
Product placement where it seems natural and isn't trying to be blatant is just fine. If pizza was ordered for a party or event and it happens to be Pizza Hut, who cares? And if you have a scene in a bar, seeing Budweisers may be totally normal to be drunk. (Beginning of Home Alone, and i think Cutting edge)

Now for anything unnatural in it's presentation, yeah obfuscating it is fine (Mythbusters testing a beer bottle breaking myth and slapped paper over the beers hiding the brand). I don't want to start seeing crappy 'all the furniture is covered because it's product placement' BS with what they'd call copyright infringement.

Then there's blatent over the top. I remember hearing how Tony Hawk's Skater pro game on PS2 had ad placements EVERYWHERE, like 10x the normal. That kind of thing will make me not only not buy the game, but not look at any of those products in said game either.

Few years ago a Game Jam with Angry Joe was going on, apparently they were trying to make sure everyone had a Mt Dew at all times, and rules and stuff for the name facing certain directions to the camera, so much it was apparently totally annoying. On top of that they had a director who was specialized in reality TV BS trying to start drama and fights between teams of programmers, who were having none of it and they just cancelled the whole event.

Product placement can even be part of the narrative in some cases. Example if you're doing a homeless encampment, they wouldn't be using name brands like Campbell; And instead has Dollar Tree 'Saver's Choice' or whatnot brand, though it shouldn't be the main focus.

Everything is made by someone.

Bodger sells out
Post edited December 29, 2023 by rtcvb32
Posted December 30, 2023
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Breja: A lot of people seem to find it incredibly annoying and criticise movies and games for it a lot. I'm always a bit surprised by that, because I'm usually quite oblivious to product placement. I mean... these things just exist, so it's far less distracting for me to see someone in a movie drinking Guinness than "BEER". If I didn't read about it as supposedly an egregious example of product placement, I would never have even noticed that Alan Wake had product placement. I mean... name of a company appears on a billboard... so? Billboards exist, they advertise stuff, it's not like the Starbucks cup in Game of Thrones.

But mybe that's because I don't pay much attention to brands and logos and the like, or just because I'm not observant enough and miss stuff all the time. So, does it bother you guys? Do you notice it?
It is almost everywhere. Even when you pay for ad-free subscription it pervades.

Have a look at the link below for Scorceses Taxi Driver and the sheer amount of product placement.

https://productplacementblog.com/tag/taxi-driver-1976/

Try watching it again. it's just shameless adds.

Modern cinema is just as bad.

Watching netflix recently I see they are pushing Ray Bans.

Prostituting cinema? Probably.
Posted December 30, 2023
I don't mind if a specific product is visible in the movie/game, in an inconspicuous context. I do mind the "placement" part though. As soon as it's obvious that it was placed there just to promote the product like an ad, I groan inwardly. In that moment, my thoughts will wander off to how the whole movie/game is a product, too, and how everything is about money etc., instead of keeping me immersed in the fiction. I wouldn't make a fuss of it and it won't ruin the whole movie/game, but it will probably make me think a bit lesser of it as a consistent work of art, because it's been tainted by something clumsy and not fitting with the rest. Kind of like the amateurish backer content in some Kickstarter-funded games.

I guess what makes it so noticeable and disruptive is that it only happens for very few, select products (contrary to RL where all kinds of product names appear everywhere), and that the camera often lingers on them a tad too long to make the viewer believe it's just a coincidence.
Post edited December 30, 2023 by Leroux
Posted December 30, 2023
Feels dirty when it halts a film completely. "The Postman" is a good example. They literally stop the film and introduce a guy as a name of a car. Look at a car dealership. Then ok, the film starts again. Even if you dislike the film for other reasons, if you stop a film so abruptly, it kills it in advertising.
Posted December 30, 2023
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Strijkbout: Well, people pay to watch a movie about Barbie and Transformers, so how much product placement do you want?
A lot less than "Mark Walberg guzzling Bud-Light mid-fight" and little more than "cars that aren't robots have branded grills".
Posted December 30, 2023
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Breja: So, does it bother you guys? Do you notice it?
I always notice product placement and almost always groan when I see it (especially when characters comment on how great the product is!)...

... but...

... I will forever remember the pinnacle of product placement...

... an episode of Dawson's Creek where the entire episode took place inside a Best Buy. Amazing.
Post edited December 30, 2023 by kai2
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionDoes product placement bother you?(56 posts)(56 posts)
(56 posts)