Movies Are Silly!

It’s been a while yourpopfilterites (and -ettes). But I’m back… for now at least. And what better way to get back in the mix than a new installment of “Movies Are Silly!”! If you’re unfamiliar feel free to peruse some of the older articles, this one will still be here when you get back, probably.

This time we’re gonna have a little chat about something that’s a little behind the scenes… mostly. It’s product placement, something that’s in pretty much every movie ever made and if you don’t know what it is, well, you’re in for a treat.

Product Placement

Movies cost a LOT of money to make, more than most of the people actually working on the movie will ever make in their entire lives ever… that much. AND all that money can’t just come from the studio, they need outside investors and advertisers. AND what better way to advertise than to put your product directly into a movie that millions of people are going to view on gigantic screens. Also known as embedded marketing this practice has been going on since pretty much forever in movies and really it’s not that bad; worse people make money off advertising than gaffers that are now employed thanks to this movie. But there comes a point where the product goes from being embedded into the film to BEING the film; this would be the point where it starts to get silly.

As I see it there are several levels of product insertion, ranging from least intrusive to most intrusive.

1. Background Insertion

Intrusionmeasurementometer: 3.2 intrusites

The action moves past the product or an advertisement FOR the product (pretty meta) and it’s not really fully on screen for more than a few seconds. Maybe the characters argue in front of a Chic-Fil-A for a couple of minutes (+.5 intrusites).

2. Casual Association

Intrusionmeasurementometer: 5.1 intrusites

The product is a part of the scene but attention is not called to it in any way: A character is wearing a LaCoste shirt; a character is drinking a Budweiser when their friends arrive; the cups the characters are using to play beer pong are Solo cups.

3. Casual Attention

Intrusionmeasurementometer: 6.7 intrusites

The type of product is mentioned or called attention to and the product is what appears.

Character1: Do you have any soda?

Character2: Yes *Short Pause, Throws Character1 a Pepsi*

Character1: Thanks Character2!

4. Product Naming

Intrusionmeasurementometer: 8.4 intrusites

The product is actually a part of the words spoken by one or more characters (+.35 intrusite per extra character using product name). “Good thing I went to R.E.I. before this wacky misadventure happened to us, huh other characters?” “Yeah we just met at the Taco Bell and now I’m headed back.”

5. Mini-Advertisement

Intrusionmeasurementometer: 9.2 intrusites (highest ever recorded)

A small commercial happens in the middle of the movie.

*Character 1 drives up in an Audi 3000 or whatever*

Character2: Holy cow! Is that an Audi 3000 or whatever?

Character1: It sure as heck is! It goes from zero to sixty in 3.27 seconds!

Character2: Goddam! Now I’m going to give you oral sex!

Character1: You sure are!

 

And of course off the goddam silly scale are products that ARE the movie. You’re all familiar with Legos and video games right? You probably also then know that there are Lego Video Games. Now these Lego Video Games, I gather, are mostly based on Movies. So are these Movies advertising themselves in a Video Game or is this Legos advertising themselves in a Video Game using Movies but Movies don’t mind because it gets them on the screen too, ya know? So that’s crazy, right? But guess what guys? Now they’re making a Movie based on the Lego Video Games that use the Movie for their characters. That is more synergy than was previously thought possible to exist in any one singular product. Upon this film’s release it’s theorized it will create a synplosion that will break some of the weaker syngistic connections, such as the one between RocketFish and Companies That Actually Make Something Not Just An Accessory For Something. And of course don’t forget Comic Book Movies. Is the Movie advertising the Comic Book characters and plots? No it IS the characters and plots.

Silly.

-SB

PS I know also Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle but c’mon… it’s been done.