Today: Mar 28, 2024

Product placement in films can be excessive, but clever

Jessica GuerrucciContributor

When some people see name brand products and logos in their favorite TV show or film, it jumps right out at them. Others, not so much.

The concept of placing a product in a TV show or film is received differently by various students. Some said that they find it to be distracting, some said that they do not mind it, and others said it does not have any effect on them.

Tyler Shand, a communication major, said it depends entirely on how he feels about the product. Shand said that if he likes the product, he does not mind seeing it, but if he does not, he finds it to be a waste of time.

“I don’t know what movie I just saw, but there’s something for Toyota, and they said their catchphrase and that was a little bit too much,” said Shand. “They should’ve just left the car they had.”

On the other hand, some just find advertising in TV shows and film to be distracting. Stephen Spangler said he is not a big fan of product placement, and if it is done, he prefers it to be subtle.

“Film is meant to give you an idea or something to enjoy,” said Spangler. “It’s not meant to be an advertisement.”

Other students said that they think product placement is a good way for companies to advertise their products. Shannon Netter said that the characters in the TV shows and films have an impact on the audience and herself.

“A lot of people watch films and TV and they’re influenced by the characters and what they do in them,” said Netter. “So if they’re drinking a Coke product, they’re obviously going to want to go and buy a Coke product.”

Nico Cappello said that one of the product placements that stuck out to him was in the movie “Little Nicky.”

“It’s with Adam Sandler, there’s this scene where he’s sitting on a park bench next to his dog and just chowing on some KFC,” said Cappello.

Shand also said that he has seen product placement in the TV series, “Stranger Things.”

The character Eleven is always eating Eggo Waffles.

Another student, Mireille Jaser, said that she does not feel that she is the target audience when it comes to advertising in films, people who are impulse shoppers might go out and buy the products that they see on the screen.

Cappello agreed with Jaser and said that whether product placement is effective depends entirely on the audience.

“For certain people, they are going to go out and probably think about buying the item, whatever it is,” said Cappello, “but for certain people also it will just be, oh look, another blip in the timeline of the movie.”

Jaser said that for her, product placement has no effect on her and just sees it as part of the movie. Cappello had a similar perspective and said that while he believes some people go out and buy the products, for him personally, the advertising does not bother him.

“I don’t think it’s distracting at all, actually,” said Cappello. “It’s just kind of like a pop-up. It’s part of the movie, so you kind of just keep going with it.”

Photo Credit: Jeff Lamson

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