How different would the world be if E.T. had followed a trail of brussels sprouts instead of Reese’s Pieces? Probably not that much (other than the fact that people would be wondering why we continue to attempt to go into space if all the aliens want is our produce). But one thing would be different. We’d probably be without the current preponderance of product placement. Subtle in nearly every primetime show, mocked in Wayne’s World, product placement seems to be what makes the world go round these days.
With TiVo and DVRs enabling people to send commercials into the ether of the 30-second skip (or in the case of my U-Verse, regrettably, the 23-second skip), companies needed to find a way to get their products through the eyeholes of the viewers. Enter product placement.
There are subtle ways, like Ross on “Friends” drinking a Sam Adams. And there are are less subtle ways, like Ted on “How I Met Your Mother” turning his non-existant Windows-branded laptop to his friends to show a page of Bing search results. (You know it was born of a marketer’s pen, because in the real world, nobody uses Bing on purpose.)
There’s a happy medium. Share your brand with your target, but don’t beat them over the head with it.
Incidentally, I see Heisler beer all the time on TV shows. Unfortunately, Heisler doesn’t exist. It’s a fake brand of beer created by Independent Studio Services. Why is it that I find myself sometimes wanting a beer that doesn’t exist? Probably because A. I see it all the time on TV, B. They don’t say, “Man, this is one good Heisler Beer, frost brewed and delicious.” and C. The label’s kinda cool.
If on the next episode of “How I Met Your Mother” I saw Ted drinking a bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, would that make me want it more? Sure, as long as Ted doesn’t turn the bottle toward the camera to ensure that I see every millimeter of the label, maybe. Do I hate Microsoft even more because of its heavy-handed showing on the previous episode? Absolutely.