Product Placement in Movies: A Brief History

Jan 17

Product placement advertising is incredibly commonplace in movies, on TV and in music videos these days, but did you know the phenomenon that is considered such a modern-day marketing initiative actually dates back to the early 1900s? 

Oliver Noble’s video, ‘A Brief History of Conspicuous Product Placement in Movies’ runs a timeline on embedded advertising from its debut in a silent movie through to 47-brand-placing Transformers, and makes an interesting, if not slightly cynical, coffee-break watch. 

Fatty Arbuckle film first to use paid-for Product Placement 

The video reveals that the first documented, paid-for product placement advertisement appeared in a silent movie starring Fatty Arbuckle back in 1919. And that Hershey’s Chocolate used product placement in 1927 in ‘Wings’ – the first ever film to win an Academy Award for best picture. Even the Marx Brothers got involved in 1932 picture ‘Horse Feathers’ where Life Saver’s Candy made a timely appearance. 

And who could forget E.T.’s craving for Hershey’s Reece’s Pieces in Steven Spielberg’s 1982 blockbuster? Their £1million investment reportedly boosted sales by 65%, a memory Mars – who were given first refusal, and took it – would no doubt rather forget. 

The Future Backs Brands 

Mac and Me, The Wizard and Back to the Future in the late 1980s are considered by Noble as some of the first movies to have gone too far with product placement and cites, as does the rest of the world, Adam Sandler as the Oscar-winner when it comes to embedded advertising. 

Into the 21^st Century, and Noble’s video explains we’re seeing more brands than ever per movie; in 2005 a total of 35 brands were placed in The Island, from Cadillac to Xbox. And in 2009, this record was blown out of the water when a staggering 47 brand owners took advantage of the opportunity to feature in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

“Creating a Positive Emotional Association with the Viewer” 

Noble may be slightly cynical in his coverage of a subject that clearly has its audience divided, but it is an interesting piece to watch nevertheless. Other spectators reporting their views on his video have voted in favour of product placement advertising, with one saying, “Watching a movie’s hero quench his thirst with a Dr. Pepper not only promotes brand recognition but it manipulatively tries to create a positive emotional association with the viewer.” (Political Remix Video.) 

Product Placement Popularity to Grow in 2012, says Leading Marketing Expert

Jan 03

Seethu Seetharaman, professor of marketing at Washington University, has predicted that the use of product placement and viral marketing will grow in 2012, as traditional advertising initiatives such as print advertising and TV commercials continue to decline.

Seetharaman says that emerging concepts like product placement, viral internet campaigns, crowd sourcing and guerilla promotions will dominate in 2012 and beyond, saying: “Traditional expensive advertising is no longer effective given all the clutter, as well as the emergence of technologies, like digital video recorders, that block the ads from even being viewed, much less absorbed, by consumers”.

Transformers 3: A Product Placement Record, even by Hollywood Standards

On product placement in movies, Seetharaman said: “The movie Transformers 3 created a record, even by Hollywood standards, in terms of the number of brands that were ‘product placed’ within the movie. This will catch on in the future, although the concept of product placements goes back to the times of the Marx Brothers.”

The reason for the reemergence of product placement, says Seetharaman, is down to the lack of opportunity nowadays to reach a captive audience. With product placement, consumers have no choice but to take in the brand being advertised – they can’t simply switch over or fast forward. “In fact, product placements are also on the rise in sitcoms, video games, and other media for the same reason,” he says.

Here’s a round-up of the top 100 products placed in Transformers 3: