PRODUCT PLACEMENT IN FILM AND TV

PRODUCT PLACEMENT IN FILM AND TV
By Bruce Bisbey

An advertising technique used by companies to subtly promote their products through a non-traditional advertising technique, usually through appearances in film, television, or other media. ... A company will often pay a fee to have their product used, displayed, or significantly featured in a movie or show.

Product placement is the inclusion of a branded product in media, usually without explicit reference to the product. Most commonly, branded products are featured in movies, television shows and video games.

Placement, or product distribution, is the process of making a product or service accessible for use or consumption by a consumer or business user, using direct means, or using indirect means with intermediaries.

Placements fall into two categories: those that are donated to reduce production costs and those placed in exchange for compensation. Lotz refers to two classifications within these two categories, what she refers to as "basic" and "advanced". Basic placement is when the logo of an object or a brand name is visible but the characters don't draw attention to the brand. Advanced placement is when the product or brand is mentioned by name by characters in the show or movie.

Barter and service deals (mobile phones provided for crew use, for instance) are also common practices. Content providers may trade product placements for help funding advertisements tied-in with a film's release, a show's new season or other event.

A variant of product placement is advertisement placement. In this case an advertisement for the product (rather than the product itself) is production. Examples include a Lucky Strike cigarette advertisement on a billboard or a truck with a milk advertisement on its trailer.

Product placement financing.

Income from product placement can be used to supplement the budget of a film.

The Bond franchise is notable for its lucrative product placements deals, bringing in millions of dollars. In the film Minority Report, Lexus, Bulgari and American Express reportedly paid a combined $20 million for product placement, a record-high amount. Product placement may also take the form of in-kind contributions to the film, such as free cars or computers (as props or for the production's use). While no money changes hands, the films budget will be lowered by the amount that would have otherwise been spent on such items.

Did you know?

The top amount ever paid for product placement, so far.

It featured 39 different brands. And the award for Product Placement Production went to Smurfs 2 – the film covered the entire cost of its $105 million dollar budget with $150 million worth of product placement deals.

Sources: Google, Wikimedia and Wikipedia