Remember how ridiculous Josie and The Pussycats was? Well, apparently they were on to something with their subliminal message theme. And while product placement is a rarely subliminal (remember Wolverine quenching his thirst in X-Men?), it’s definitely a lot less upfront than a regular old commercial. Either way, it seems as though our movies may be getting a lot more conveniently placed soda cans in the coming years.
According to a study done by the Journal of Marketing and a write-up on the Phoenix New Times, product placement is more effective than ever. In other words, we as viewers are impressionable enough to see a character we think is cool drinking a Pepsi and in turn, go buy one ourselves. The article states that, “when a product is successfully placed in feature films, the company that makes it enjoys a dramatic boost in its stock price.” The undercover advertising is so successful, in fact, that the professor who conducted the study believes product placement spending will increase from $722 million in 2005 to $1.8 billion in 2010.
Being a victim of one its examples, this study hits particularly close to home. The article cites a couple of the more successful product placements, including the Mini Coopers in The Italian Job. I remember watching that movie with my dad when I was 18 and thinking, “I am so getting one of those.” I eventually did and eventually had to sell it thanks to ridiculous maintenance costs. No one is immune to the sickness that is consumerism, not even a super awesome staff writer for Cinema Blend.
