Product placement seems to be all the rage lately. Sometimes it bothers me, like when they stop in the middle of The Biggest Loser to talk to each other about the joys of Ziploc products. Other times, I don't mind, knowing that everybody just wants to make a little money and this is the price we pay for living in a capitalistic society.
What gets to me though, is the thought that these aren't the little guys making a little bit of money off some product placement. Nope. A lot of these products belong to the same big companies and that company is just raking in the profits. If companies use all their time promoting their own parent/sister company's products, where are the small companies going to get their advertising placed? In the very worst, cheapest, least-watched slots, that's where.
And then again on the other hand, some of this stuff is just plain funny! The New York Times article gave a great list of examples of both good and bad (horrible, really) product placement. For instance, this one here, just...just...I don't even know what to say about it. Just watch it.
Wearables and beyond
-
I can't remember the first time I heard the word computer. I do remember
my grandfather, who read Popular Science, my dad read Popular Mechanics, I
loved ...
I too feel a range of emotions when I think about all of the advertisement I encounter and the possible effects. The amount of money at stakes speaks to the influence that these product placements have though. I'm sure I know how the ads affect me. Do I buy things because the ideas are planted or because I would choose them anyway? I bet the companies know more about that than I do! (insert nervous laughter here!)
ReplyDeleteNice product placement example!
ReplyDelete