So, was I bothered by the product placement? Absolutely not. I couldn’t help but think how true it was to Wall Street fashion: make money where there’s money to be made. While there were a lot of products featured in the movie, some more obviously than others, it definitely did not take away from the plot of the movie. The products fit with the situations, and since we live in a culture where brands are discussed and referenced all of the time, it did not seem too out of the ordinary for there to be so much talk and placement of brands.
In total, 42 brands were featured in Wall Street. This got me thinking: when will enough be enough?
At the rate we are going, I’m not sure product placement will ever subside. I think this is in part because consumers are more aware they are being targeted by marketers than ever. More and more brands are acknowledging the fact that they can’t act like they aren’t trying to sell something, because everyone knows they are. Many brands are being honest with themselves and make it clear to their customers that they know they are marketing in an over-the-top manner. Fortunately for marketers, consumers see this as comedic, not annoying. Consumers like that they are “in” on the joke. For example, take Snapple in 30 Rock. The overt product placement fits with Snapple’s not-so-serious persona.
Another example: Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” video. In the video, she makes sandwiches in a jail with Mayo, blatantly talks on a Virgin Mobile phone, and uses her Polaroid camera. In total, she had 10 products clearly displayed in her video. Why did she do it? Because she could.
Gaining customer awareness will never get easier. Consumers are filtering their e-mails better, zipping through commercials easier, and driving by billboards faster than ever. I don’t foresee the product placement trend declining anytime soon. The one way I think product placement will change is how brands will be placed. While the blatant placement is the trend for now, I am not sure if it will always resonate as funny with audiences. I don’t think it will be long until all marketers will trend toward paradoxically stealthy, yet obvious placement strategies. As long as movie producers get millions of dollars from selling time in movies, filmmakers and marketers will work to fit in as many products as possible.
Alison Henley is a senior Business & Enterprise Management major with a minor in Sociology.
Alison Henley is a senior Business & Enterprise Management major with a minor in Sociology.
As I read Alison’s blog, all I could think about was my own recognition of product placements in the TV shows and movies I watch. And interestingly enough, I don’t think I personally observe it as consciously as Alison was implying – I agree that “consumers are more aware they are being targeted by marketers than ever” in this digital age. I feel this way even on Facebook, where the ads that show up on my page are constantly directed specifically to links on my profile, my stated interests, etc. But as far as the recognition of brands placed in a movie, I can’t help but consider the concepts of absolute and differential threshold, because they represent a sort of individualistic experience as far as what a marketer could do to reach one consumer over another. I think what I’m trying to say is that if an absolute threshold is “the lowest intensity at which a stimulus can be detected at least 50% of the time,” then maybe my personal absolute threshold is higher than Alison’s, for instance. Consider the stimulus of characters in a movie sitting in a kitchen drinking Diet Coke; the goal here might be for consumers to witness the Diet Coke and to recognize relatable characters enjoying something they too would enjoy. To me, this stimulus might not be quite strong enough for me to actually detect its presence as a form of messaging; picturing a Diet Coke on a kitchen table is too commonplace for me to even notice what its purpose is. But maybe, to Alison, she sees that Diet Coke and immediately recognizes its purpose, and maybe she even starts considering going to her own kitchen and grabbing a Diet Coke. And ding! The marketers behind Coca-Cola have initiated a physical response. The concept is a little trivial to fully grasp, but I think it is more and more interesting how subliminal messaging in the form of product placement is a very successful approach taken by companies to increase their product awareness. Man, I’m getting thirsty.
ReplyDelete-Jackie