Brands & Films

First of all I have to admit that I made a mistake in my annual blog post The Best of 2011. I gave the Product placement surprise of the year award to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on the premise that main character Lisbeth Salander was using Sony Vaio instead of an Apple. She was, after all, an Apple girl – Stieg Larsson author of the Millennium trilogy made it really clear that Lisbeth is a loyal Apple user.

Let me correct that mistake. After watching David Fincher’s adaptation of Larsson’s novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo I could say that Apple played prominent role in the movie and that both Lisbeth and the other main character Mikael Blomkvist used Apple’s products very often.

Apple

MacBooks could be seen in several scenes throughout the movie. Fincher remained true to the book, so both Lisbeth and Mikael use Apple computers.

Apple in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011, Columbia Pictures, screen capture)

Apple in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011, Columbia Pictures, screen capture)

Sony TVs and mobile phones

The movie was distributed by Columbia Pictures, which is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, so it was expected that all devices would be Sony’s. It many movies, produced by Sony’s subsidiaries, characters use Sony Vaios, but obviously TGWTDT was an example.

Sony TV in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011, Columbia Pictures, screen capture)

Epson printer

Epson printer in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011, Columbia Pictures, screen capture)

Billy’s frozen pizza

This is a nice addition; because I remember that in the novel Larsson mentioned that Lisbeth ate Billy’s frozen pizza quite often.

Billy's frozen pizza in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011, Columbia Pictures, screen capture)

Chateau Clinet wine

Chateau Clinet is a small estate in Bordeaux, France, which has become very popular during the past decade and also received some of the highest possible scores from wine critics. A bottle of Clinet wine can be seen at the dinner in Martin Vanger’s house.

Clinet wine in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011, Columbia Pictures, screen capture)

Wayne’s Coffee

Wayne’s Coffee is a Swedish-based coffee-house chain founded in Stockholm in 1994. The chain grew with locations in several Scandinavian countries as well as further out into the Baltic region. Today it operates over 100 coffee shops.

Wayne’s Coffee wasn’t mentioned in the book, but it’s a nice fit, since there are several Wayne’s coffee shops in the Stockholm.

Wayne's Coffee in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011, Columbia Pictures, screen capture)

Nine Inch Nails sweater

This is not really product placement but more like homage to Trent Reznor’s music band Nine Inch Nails. Reznor and fellow composer Atticus Ross composed the score for the movie.

Nine Inch Nails sweater in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011, Columbia Pictures, screen capture)

Bobby Fischer’s 60 memorable games

My 60 Memorable Games is a chess book by Bobby Fischer, first published in 1969. It is a collection of his games dating from the 1957 New Jersey Open to the 1967 Sousse Interzonal. The book that Lisbeth bought for her legal guardian Holger Palmgren and can be seen in a bar is regarded as one of the great pieces of chess literature.

Bobby Fischer's book and SonyEricsson in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011, Columbia Pictures, screen capture)

Purell sanitizer [spoilers]

When Martin takes Mikael as a hostage in his basement we can see a bottle of Purell sanitizer which is obviously used to disinfect murderer’s hands. According to the article in The Atlantic Purell was totally unaware of its role in TGWTDT, not to mention the product’s use in that particular scene. Purell’s representative also said that they would not endorse or promote this type of product placement.

Purell sanitizer (seen in the background) in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011, Columbia Pictures, screen capture)

You can find additional pictures of product placement from the movie at Brands & Films’ Facebook page

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Other movies from the ‘Product placement in pictures’ series:

The Help

Drive

Crazy Stupid Love

Horrible Bosses

Friends With Benefits

The Smurfs

Fast Five

The Taking of Pelham 123

Morning Glory

Hall Pass

Due Date

Drive Angry

Limitless

No Strings Attached

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Let’s clear one thing first: product placement prostitution occurs when corporate money directs the movie. We’ve seen cases of that phenomenon before, with some very blatant examples, e.g. Sex ant the City, Transformers, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps … But here we have another ‘great’ case: the trailer for the latest Resident Evil movie.

The movie is produced by Screen Gems, a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, but that can’t justify such exposure of Sony’s products.

What can I say about product placement in that trailer?

Is it tasteless?

Unforgivable?

Unforgettable?

Dumb?

…

It’s really awful and it will definitely worsen the perception of product placement among moviegoers.

:(((

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After one-year hiatus the fifth season of American TV series Mad Men will start on 25^th March. Before the premiere we would be able to see numerous promotional activities, from the American cable network AMC, production company Lionsgate Television and various companies or brands. You might remember that in the spring of 2010, Mattel released a series of limited-edition collectible Barbie and Ken dolls based on the characters Don and Betty Draper, Joan Holloway and Roger Sterling.

Mad Men inspired Barbie dolls (Source: blogs.amctv.com)

This year Swiss watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre joined the bandwagon and announced that they created a special limited engraved design of their iconic Reverso watch in a tribute to Mad Men. It’s going to be a really special watch, with only 25 custom-created, numbered pieces.

Jaeger-LeCoultre's watch Reverso

Lucky/wealthy owners will get the watch in a unique, custom-designed walnut commemorative box featuring the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce logo printed on top and hand-inscribed on the back of each watch.

Additionally, each piece includes a personalized commemorative letter from Roger Sterling, pictures of the Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin Tribute to Mad Men, and a copy of Roger Sterling’s book Sterling’s Gold, autographed by series creator and executive producer Matthew Weiner.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Mad Men package

Jaeger-LeCoultre is a high-end luxury watch and clock manufacturer based in Le Sentier in Switzerland, established in 1833. The company was officially renamed Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1937 and since 1996 it has been a fully owned subsidiary of the Swiss luxury group Richemont.

In 2009, Jaeger-LeCoultre produced the world’s most complicated wristwatch, the Hybris Mechanica à Grande Sonnerie with 26 complications.

Commemorative letter from Roger Sterling

The Reverso watch is really a masterpiece, originating from 1931, when it was developed for polo players. The watch has evolved over the past eighty years with new faces, sizes and complications. According to Jaeger-LeCoultre wearing Reverso is an entrance to an exclusive world – in terms of watch-making history and aesthetic refinement.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Mad Men watch

“Certain legends draw their strength from their age. Frozen in the past, immobilized forever, they speak only of the past. But sometimes, the magic is so great that a strange phenomenon takes place: the legend lives, breathes, mutates, becomes more beautiful, all the while retaining its aura. The Reverso is so unique that with the passing of time, it has been made in many guises without losing its essence”, said Jérôme Lambert, CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre.

This is a very interesting move by the Swiss company which can generate a lot of publicity, although it’s not mass market oriented (unlike AMC’s collaboration with Banana Republic). The price for Reverso wasn’t disclosed, but according to Luxury Daily a similar version of the timepiece, the Grande Reverso 969, starts at $7,800.

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The Help, one of the most successful movies of 2011 is set in 1963, so I hadn’t had high expectations regarding product placement. However I was pleasantly surprised with the number of brands involved and also with the execution. As we could’ve seen in Mad Men, producers can include brands in movies and TV shows that take place some 50 years ago to provide a better historical landscape and also without making fools of themselves.

Let’s check brands from The Help:

Cadillac

The heroine, Skeeter Phelan, drives a Cadillac, which is a natural fit, since she’s from a wealthy Mississippi state family.

Cadillac in The Help (2011, DreamWorks, screen capture)

Coca Cola

One of the world’s and America’s most iconic brands has a prominent role when a young southern girl has a conversation with a future maid. They both drink Coke and the bottle can be spotted in several scenes.

Coca Cola in The Help (2011, DreamWorks, screen capture)

Life magazine

Life magazine is briefly seen in a scene which shows Medgar Evers’ widow and her son, after the assassination of her husband. Evers was an African American civil rights activist from Mississippi involved in efforts to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi. He was assassinated in June 1963 by a member of the White Citizens’ Council.

Life magazine in The Help (2011, DreamWorks, screen capture)

Shinolator

Shinalator (in the movie it is called shinolator) is a hair product from the 60s that was used to treat frizzy hair. Skeeter got it from New York and her mother used it to prepare her for a date with Stuart.

Shinolator in The Help (2011, DreamWorks, screen capture)

Crisco

Movie’s most interesting product placement was for Crisco. Crisco is a classic American brand of shortening (any fat that is solid at room temperature and used to make crumbly pastry) that was used for frying, baking and everything else in the kitchen

Crisco in The Help (2011, DreamWorks, screen capture)

One of the main characters in the movie told us:

Well … I reckon if there’s anything you ought to know about cooking, it’s this.

The most important invention since they put mayonnaise in a jar.

You got gum in your hair, you got a squeaky door hinge…

Crisco.

You got bags under your eyes.

Want to soften your husband’s scaly feet.

Mm-hm. Crisco.

But it’s best for frying chicken.

Great stuff!

You can find more pictures of product placement from the movie at Brands & Films’ Facebook page

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Other movies from the ‘Product placement in pictures’ series:

Drive

Crazy Stupid Love

Horrible Bosses

Friends With Benefits

The Smurfs

Fast Five

The Taking of Pelham 123

Morning Glory

Hall Pass

Due Date

Drive Angry

Limitless

No Strings Attached

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In the end of November 2011 an E-commerce giant eBay added a new feature to its iPad app, which allows users to shop for products based on what they are watching on TV. The feature is called “Watch with eBay” and let you browse and buy items related to the TV programme you’re watching.

First you have to tell the app where you’re located and which cable provider do you have at home. Then you just have to tell eBay what you’re watching: a sporting event, movie, drama, reality show, sitcom … Watch with eBay will then show you related items for sale on eBay.

Sounds cool, ha?

Well, not so fast :)

eBay's new feature: Watch with eBay

Steve Yankovich, eBay’s VP of Platform Business Solutions & Mobile, eBay said in a recent interview with Robert Scoble that there’s a lot to be done in that field and I agree with him. Even though Watch with eBay works only in the US I managed to convince the app that I live somewhere in the state of New York and on Sunday I tested the app with two programs: NFL wild card game between Atlanta Falcons and NY Giants, and the movie Friends with Benefits, which has some very notable product placements (you can read more about that topic in a blog post Product placement in pictures: Friends with Benefits).

Let’s see how the app performed.

1. NFL game: Atlanta Falcons vs New York Giants

The app offered me an impressive number of hits: 49,764. Most of them were football related products associated with the keywords Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants and Football Wild-Card Round. I’ve also browsed through different categories and you could buy anything you want, related to those keywords. Pretty awesome, but as Mr. Yankovich said there is room for improvement.

Watch with eBay's results for NFL game between Atlanta Falcons and New York Giants

2. Friends with Benefits

The summer blockbuster involved some notable brands and products. Justin Timberlake worked for GQ Magazine, we could’ve spotted several Sony products (Playstation, Sony Experia mobile phone, TV, Sony Vaio laptop), iPad, posters for Skyy vodka and a mysterious L.T. Kali painting.

Watch with eBay offered me a bunch of DVDs and Blu-Ray discs, but that was predictable. However I then choose Magazines category and checked the results. The outcome: nothing special, just a bunch of magazines with either Justin Timberlake or Mila Kunis on cover (with a few GQs among them).

Watch with eBay's results for Friends with Benefits

When I chose Art they offered me posters of Justin or Mila, when I chose Mobile phones and PDAs I’ve only received custom designed phone cases with Justin Timberlake. Basically all results were associated with either Justin or Mila.

Watch with eBay's results for magazines & Friends with Benefits

So, can eBay’s iPad app enhance the importance of product placement? Can it help generate revenue out of product placement?

In my opinion it can. Steve Yankovich said in the aforementioned interview that our free time and television consuming habits have changed. We now come home from work and don’t use laptop or desktop computer. No, we use tablets, mostly iPads. We’re using them on the couch, sometimes while watching TV. And there is only a small step to ‘couch commerce’ or to describe it plainly: ordering goods and services while relaxing at home.

A recent study from eBay indicated that 86% of mobile users use their devices while watching TV. Also, eBay said that a quarter of these are browsing content related to what they’re watching. So, Watch with eBay is a perfect tool for buying stuff during some sports broadcasts, because you don’t have to be totally focused on the TV programme.

Steve Yankovich said a TV programme or anything you watch on TV or on different screens can be a commerce inspirational vehicle with eBay the first in line with its enormous number of products on sale. “Shoppers are in the driver’s seat, with mobile technology putting the mall right in your pocket. We’re using our mobile and tablet innovations to empower people to shop and find the best deals – anytime, anywhere, any way they want – from the comfort of their couch or on the go.”

Using eBay’s app for monetizing product placement in movies or TV shows is a bit more difficult but clearly not impossible. Yankovich believes that it will be easier, especially when there is meta data for everything that it’s in the TV show. He thinks that manual work is not sensible, because there are too many products in a movie or let’s calls them commercial opportunities (from a mug in the kitchen to a brand new car).

In my opinion that’s true, but eBay should at least try it with some blockbusters which had a lot of placements. They could choose 20 or 50 relatively new movies, check product placement from those movies (on BrandChannel or Brands&Films) and add a few keywords.

It should be simple. It might be commercially viable, too!

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