Product Placement in Entertainment Industry
By Maegen Search
Product placement in entertainment is something that many people rarely realize the are being exposed to. Every show and movie includes advertisement for car brands, kids toys, and technology. Billions of dollars are spent on companies products being showcased for a few seconds. Product placement in entertainment is one of the biggest growing industries in entertainment.
Many people don’t realize the product placement, because it starts so young. The movie Toy Story sold more than 20 million VHS copies the first year it was released. Toy Story includes toys such as Mr. Potato Head and Etch-a-Sketch. Both toys increased sales tremendously after the movie was released. Etch-a-Sketch sales increased by 4500% and Mr. Potato Head increased sales by 800%. In the case of Toy Story, millions of kids were exposed to the product placement of actual toys, causing young toddlers to desire the toys and receive them during birthdays and holidays. This raised the sales dramatically, just because a popular movie highly exposed a branded toy for children.
The same can be for adults later in life. It can be as simple as appliances seen in a movie that sparks the interest in buying GE products, inspiring a couple to look into purchasing a new dishwasher or fridge. Product placement has been a tactic used by many companies for years. There is proof of Hershey chocolate bar in the film Wings in 1927 (Brandon Gaille). Almost all films have some funding from companies who want their products to be briefly advertised in high viewed entertainment. In fact, it is said that moviegoers. It has also become a piece of satirical humor of how many brands use the film industry to promote their own businesses. For example, a clip from Wayne's World points out in a humorous fashion that product placement is everywhere in entertainment, providing money for the film but also advertising a product.
Beyond product placement just in children’s films and movies in general, it is in sports as well. While watching an NFL game, sponsors such as Nike, Gatorade and Campbell’s Soup. These companies spend millions of dollars in order to advertise their company to gain a higher profit margin. Those brands can be associated with the NFL because their high advertisement and product placement during the actual football game. Because of the exposure, viewers can be 60% more likely to feel positive towards a certain brand and product (Brandon Gaille). One example of two companies that went head-to-head in product competition would be the 1970 World Cup between Brazil and Italy. Puma and Adidas (feuding brothers), decided to call for a pact to not sign the brazilian star knowing it would become a bidding war that would cause a higher deficit than profit. Pele, the star player, ended up befriending the Puma sales rep who was offering lower contracts to other Brazilian players and ended up offering Pele $125,000 to wear Pumas during the World Cup. In the final game between the two countries, Pele asked for a time out where he slowly knelt down to tie his shoes. Advertising for Puma, and ultimately boosting the sales for the company after Brazil won the World Cup that year (CBC).
Product placement has become an industry in itself because traditional commercials are more expensive and can reach less people than in films or television shows. A brief product placement in a movie that usually gets on average 120 million views is $22,000. Conversely, 15 million people may view the average television commercial at the cost of $392,500 per traditional commercial (Brandon Gaille). Because the price and viewing discrepancy, the product placement industry is a growing business. An example of a company that made their entire business off of product placement was Princess Cruise Lines. The television show The Love Boat was broadcasted on ABC in 1977. Princess Cruises was offered a partnership with the show, which benefitted them drastically. In 1977, 600,000 people vacationed on cruises and by today, millions vacation on cruises everywhere (CBC).
As time goes on, product placement has become an industry in it’s own right. Billions of dollars are poured into promoting products and businesses within television and movie, directly exposing viewers to companies and their products. Product placement is everywhere, beginning in childhood movies and influencing viewers in everything after. Small moments where name-brand products are being used by actors and athletes a like, convincing the general public to buy such goods and contributing more to the businesses and film industry alike.
Works Cited
Gaille, Brandon. "46 Product Placement in Movies Statistics - BrandonGaille.com." BrandonGaillecom. 23 Jan. 2015. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
"NFL Players Inc. - Sponsors." NFL Players Inc. - Sponsors. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
"Show Me The Money: The World of Product Placement - Home | Under The Influence with Terry O'Reilly | CBC Radio." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 25 Aug. 2015. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
"Toy Story." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
Https://www.facebook.com/douglaskarr. "The Growing Product Placement Industry | MarTech." MarTech. 20 Nov. 2011. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
Your post showed some great things that many people can relate to, and I very much adore that. And you are definately right about product placement, but you could have gone to the side of product placement where they don’t even try to hide it. Like is Michael Bay’s TRANSFORMERS series, product placement is just simply shown in the middle of the screen or a big point to show in a scene. Like in Transformers 4, there is a scene showing off Bud Light with the main human character taking a long drink from it instead of forwarding the story. And I am actually surprised that you used Toy Story over The Lego Movie because as Cinema Sins on youtube called it, “This is a commercial”. And it does make sense saying the movie was about the toy Lego, so sales went crazy in 2014 when the movie came out. And all of the sales that companies get is from the hidden, or not so hidden, products placed throughout movies.
ReplyDeleteI never realized how much showing a simple logo in a movie or show can affect the sales for the company. I completely agree after reading this that while this business can be one that can go unnoticed by some, it completely influences purchases made by many people. I loved the example of Pele because I know many people who would see one of the world's most respected soccer players wearing a certain brand to be influenced to buy them as well, raking in a ton of money for the company advertised.
ReplyDeleteI knew that product placement was a big part of advertising in movies but didn't realize that companies are willing to pay top dollar to have their product advertised. After reading the article, I starting thinking about all the places that product placement is apparent and I came up with: music videos, posters/ads/billboards, commercials, normally any free good, sports events, political events, concerts, and celebrities in general. As a millennial, I have grown up with products being shoved down my throat subconsciously because I wasn't directly looking at them. This is a smart advertising strategy and is a good investment to make because it will definitely result in a growth for the company if their product placement is effective. I agree with the stance of the author, although it wasn't very biased one way or another. It's inevitable that products are going to be incorporated into places that the general public can see them and find them appealing. With the quickly expanding economy, consumer demand, and increase of technology, product placement will become more prevalent in our lives.
ReplyDeleteIve always noticed some product placement but never really thought about it because it was just simply how things worked. Personally i feel like it wouldn't impact someones decision on what to buy as much as it actually does. That took me by surprise to see the sales and how much they actually pay to have there product featured. However i feel like this is just good business and if you want your product to really do well this is necessary to get as many sales as you need. Honestly advertising can be unethical in the way they really push you to buy something, but at the end of the say your your own person, and you can spend your money on anything youd like.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a very unique topic, since I’ve never really connected brands advertised in movies to economics. I guess I’m not really surprised that, following the release of Toy Story, toys advertised in the movie were growing in sales. I originally would have thought that toys other than Woody or Buzz Lightyear lookalikes would have dropped in sales following the film production because everyone would have wanted Toy Story character action figures. However, now it does make sense when compared with how professional athletes are used to advertise different athletic brands how toys other than Woody or Buzz could see an increase in sales, as long as they were featured in the movie. Toys that weren’t featured in the movie, and weren’t action figures of direct Toy Story characters probably dropped in sales a little because they weren’t a part of the Toy Story hype.
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ReplyDeleteI thought your information was really good, I liked how you talked about how companies spend millions of dollars in order to advertise
ReplyDeletetheir company to gain a higher profit margin. However, I didn't realize that companies payed so much to have their products advertised.
I thought your information was really good, I liked how you talked about how companies spend millions of dollars in order to advertise their company to gain a higher profit margin. However, I didn't realize that companies payed so much to have their products advertised.
ReplyDeleteIt is rather interesting how some companies would pay more money to reach less people in a commercial rather than participating in product placement. I can totally see how product placement has impacted my life. I think everyone has watched a movie or seen a product in their favorite tv show that they have been convinced that they can’t live without. Product placement is true in our everyday lives and we see it to be true everywhere we look. I wonder what impact this might have on TV commercials? Will their advertising begin to dwindle because companies see how beneficial product placement is? Overall I can see how product placement will have a drastic impact on the economy.
ReplyDeleteThis article really gets you thinking about how much advertising you witness in just a day. Ads have become such an ingrained part of our life they are almost unnoticeable, especially when done well in movies. All in all, ads are a product of a capitalism, and cannot be avoided. The only thing we can hope for is for ads to be non-intrusive, and there will be no problems.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about how movies impacted product advertisements so much,.. Sometimes I would think about how movies or productions were sponsored, but I never really thought about how that improves sales rather than simple commercials. I'm going to use the idea from Nathan B. about TRANSFORMERS, and I know that when my family saw the movie, my sister fell in love with the Camaro (also known as Bumblebee). Because of that advertisement of the car, she now wants to own one in her future--it has to be exactly like the movie! I guess that shows how movies and productions can really impact what people buy, rather than the commercials from the TV. Although they do help with sales, they don't quite compare to movie sponsors and product placement.
ReplyDeleteI thought your information was really good, I liked how you talked about how companies spend millions of dollars in order to advertise their company to gain a higher profit margin. However, I didn't realize that companies payed so much to have their products advertised.
ReplyDeleteThis shows how the sales of one item in society can impact the sale of another. The use of product placement in movies increases the demand for that product and causes many to seek it. The opportunity costs for directors to include these items in their movies is outweighed by the payement they receive. There are so many new ways for companies to increase their demographic and introduce their product to buyers, you almost don't notice it half the time. If you watch mostly any movie within the past decade, you will see that products are strategically placed within the movie, or even products are made because of inspiration from the movie.
ReplyDeleteThis was really interesting to read about because when we are watching a movie or anything we just view it for entertainment purpose and we never realize that there are so many interesting facts that are beyond just entertainment. This post reminds of the earlier post on how you tubers make money by doing a make-up tutorials. The fact that just a small things such as a YouTube make up tutorial and films can change American economy in a very serious way. Also, I never realized how some of the companies pay billions of dollars to advertise their products. The way they advertise their products brainwashes the viewers to buy their products and you are absolutely correct about the product placement. I agree that it will become more of a routine in out lives.
ReplyDeleteIn general I feel as though I pick up on product placement in entertainment more than most people do as I often point it out while watching movies or shows. However, I was still unaware that it was this extreme. I was also surprised about how much the Etch-a-Sketch and Mr. Potato head sales increased. There obviously was an increase in demand after Toy Story was released, because lots of kids like to have the same toys as the ones they see in the movies. I’m curious to know if there was an increase in price of the toys after the movie was released since the payers of the advertisements were expecting the demand to increase due to their advertising. This example is perfect in order to prove that money spent on product placement in entertainment is money well spent.
ReplyDeleteProduct placement is one of the most prominent forms of advertisement, and I didn’t notice it until about a year ago. The statistics between the correlation of product placement to sales growth is fascinating in its own right, however the reactions to product placements is just as interesting. The Youtube creator community has seen backlash for doing such things, however what people forget is that all of their favorite TV shows and movies do the exact same thing. One of my favorite spoofs of product placement is in the musical Legally Blonde. In the Harvard Essay Number, the cast of sorority girls from Delta Nu proclaim that they flew there on Delta Blue. Not only is it a clever rhyme, it is also the theater industry’s way of making fun of television and movies for relying on product placement. Product placement is almost subliminal advertising. It makes the viewer want something without quite realizing why they want it. While that sounds creepy, it works, so I don’t foresee companies stopping this any time soon.
ReplyDeleteI always do see products in movies, but I never really realize that they are advertisements because they usually just flow with the scenes. The statistics presented from the increase in toy sales after the release of Toy Story is unbelievably exponential. It makes sense though. If movies portray products in a way that makes them desirable, people are going to want to purchase them. If companies know that a popular movie or TV show is going to come out, it would be smart to put money toward having their products shown in it; the marginal benefit would outweigh the marginal cost. But if movies fail, or TV shows have bad ratings and get cut, then the marginal cost would be much greater. Companies would really need to do research in order to predict the outcome of the movie or show. Now, I feel like I'm going to look closer at product placement when watching shows or movies to see which companies paid to have their products briefly advertised.
ReplyDeleteProduct placement is probably one of the most relevant economics topics that we can compare to our lives. I usually think about it when I am in a store like Walmart or Target where I can see food or movies that are at eye level for the consumer. I never thought of how greatly it can affect the lives of those in the spotlight. Of course, they have their endorsers, but being offered such a great amount of money for advertising a brand is beyond comprehensible. If we think about how much they pay, we can see that their advertising in that way is probably cheap for them, now that they are bringing in more money from showcasing their items as well.
ReplyDeleteI liked your blog post, it taught be something knew that I didn't know before. I also liked how you started talking about product placement and the increase in sales in the Toy Story movie and then expanded to bigger and new topics also dealing with product placement. I found it interesting how you put in a link to a clip from Wayne's World. I never thought about the increase in sales that would happen when those specific toys were used in the movie Toy Story but it makes complete sense.
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