Product Placement in Advertising

February 16, 2005 Nobody is surprised anymore that movies and TV programs seek payment for allowing brands to make appearances in programs. Just as journalistic war reporting has become ‘embedded’ with the military, so too has brand advertising become ‘embedded’ with the mass media. When the current movie “Sideways” eulogized pinot noir wine, USA sales of it for January (2005) shot up 22%. After release of the movie “About Schmidt” in 2002 starring Jack Nicholson, child sponsorships for aid agency ‘Plan International’ quadrupled. (Nicholson played a retiree whose world is falling apart and by sponsoring a young Tanzanian boy, Ndugu, he finds something to live for.) While ‘Plan International’ did not pay to be in the film, it illustrates the potency of product placement! Is it any wonder that brands and companies are prepared to pay to get into the movies?

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