Our Client really received a true home run in “The Ugly Truth”.

First we see the package, then we see the star putting on the product. Finally we see the product working… many people have placed this scene on Youtube with some with over 3 million hits.

Because of this scene the brand has increased  their distribution of the product.Needless to say this was a placement the generated sales… and that’s what it is all about

see exposure

By Shannon Fremutz

Primetime on CBS Wowwee had a well placed exposure.

THREE RIVERS is a medical drama starring Alex O’Loughlin (“Moonlight,” upcoming CBS Films “The Back-Up Plan”) that goes inside the emotionally complex lives of organ donors, the recipients and the surgeons at the preeminent transplant hospital in the country, where every moment counts. However, dealing with donor families in their darkest hour and managing the fears and concerns of apprehensive recipients takes much more than just a sharp scalpel. Leading the elite team is Dr. Andy Yablonski, the highly-skilled workaholic lead organ transplant surgeon, whose good-natured personality and sarcastic wit makes him popular with his patients and colleagues. His co-workers include Dr. Miranda Foster, a surgical fellow with a rebellious streak and fiery temper who strives to live up to her deceased father’s excellent surgical reputation; Dr. David Lee, a womanizing surgical resident who’s broken as many hearts as he’s replaced; Ryan Abbott, the inexperienced new transplant coordinator who arranges the intricately choreographed process of quickly

Ill attempt to my best Dave Zirin impersonation here.

The night before Thanksgiving Katy and I saw The Blind Side.

I had been familiar with the story when I read this New York Times Magazine profile of Michael Oher a few years ago.   After reading the article I bought the book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game.

The book was great but the posters for the movie version of The Blind Side looked horrible.  It seemed to me that this was going to be a sports movie version of Mississippi Burning .  Or might qualify for a recent blog post titled “The Five Most Unintentionally Racist Movies about Racism. Anyways, here is a nice summary of the criticism about Mississippi Burning:

[Missisippi Burning] been criticized by many, including historian Howard Zinn, for its fictionalization of history. According to Zinn: while FBI agents are portrayed as heroes who descend upon the town by the hundreds, in reality the FBI and the Justice Department only reluctantly protected civil rights workers and protesters and reportedly witnessed beatings without intervening.^[1] It was also criticized due to its portrayal of southern African-Americans as passive victims. The image of African-Americans as being passive also shapes the film’s reenactment of the assassinations;^[2] New York Times film reviewer wrote that the film’s alleged distortions amounted to a “cinematic lynching” of history.

See, The Blind Side takes place in Memphis and essentially a rich white woman comes to the rescue of a homeless black kid with an NFL body.  Hollywood could have very easily taken the very powerful story of Michael Oher and Leigh Anne Tuohy and turned into a Disnified, racial fantasy.

Never mind the fact that  Memphis might be one of the most racially polarized cities in the country and the place where Martin Luther kIng was assassinated. And the University of Missisippi?  It’s racial history is just as brutal. And “Ole Miss,”– the college’s nickname?  That is what slaves called the slave master’s wife.

Overall,  the book was better and the movie is far from being perfect.  The Border’s commercial that breaks out in the middle of the movie also might be the most annoying product placement I have ever experienced.

But still, the movie made me cry.  (The last time I cried in a movie might have been in Top Gun when Goose died.)

And I cried, I think, because I grew up around families like the Tuohy’s.  Rich. White. Christian. Republican.  I never once met someone from that background who would have opened the car door for a homeless black teenager, even if he had NFL tackle written all over his body.

And that is why I loved the movie–because if you are rich and white and powerful, it means nothing if you don’t open the door for others.

P.S. I also thought it was interesting that at the end of the movie when they were showing newspaper clippings of Michael Oher’s career the other story that appeared on the “newspaper” was about Darfur.  I think the movie producer’s were trying to make a point….

Ok, this isn’t going to be one of those “Star Trek taught me to be a better person by believing in the principles of the Federation” type of posts.

Your Monkey does not know enough about Star Trek the series or the original movies to say whether or not he agrees with any Trekkie philosophy.

This post is about what your Monkey learned from watching “Star Trek” the movie, the 2009 summer blockbuster directed by JJ Abrams (of Lost and Felicity fame).

Being a non-Trek fan who knows nothing of the Trek canon, Your Monkey may be in a better position to judge the film as a pure story, rather than worrying about how it reimagines Star Trek as a series.

OK, enough jibber jabber. On to the lessons.

1. Don’t be afraid to kill someone off: Without revealing anything, there is an important and dramatically surprising death in this movie that sets an emotional tone for the film and raises the dramatic stakes. Because of this death, it becomes more important for us as a viewer that the crew of the Enterprise succeed in their mission. We have set the bar high for noble and heroic sacrifice.

2. Small stakes can equal high drama: Perhaps the most thrilling and adrenaline-charged sequence in the film involves an attempt by Enterprise crew members to sabotage a drill that is boring deep into the core of a planet. This scene only involves six actors, relies primarily on hand to hand combat, and yet is as thrilling as any large scene involving spaceships and photons and phasers and the like. You don’t have to go big to get big results.

3. Respect your characters: Introducing and establishing the personalities of all the Star Trek crew members is no easy task in a movie that runs only about two hours. It is difficult to make each character stand out given that we have to move the plot forward at a pretty rapid clip.

The characters that the film does take time to give a back story to (Spock and Lt. Uhura, for example) to become much more interesting and engaging than those who seem to just get tossed into the mix with only a few throwaway lines (Bones and Sulu). Even the character of  seems to get a short shrift in the back story department.

4. Don’t feel the need to over-explain. After listening to a podcast interview with the screenwriters of the new Star Trek, it became clear to this Monkey that there was a lot going on in the plot of the film that escaped his notice because he was unfamiliar with the long history of Star Trek. But the fact that the film didn’t slow down at every moment to explain how this tied into 40 years of storytelling was a big plus. Those who knew the back story likely enjoyed the film on a different level than the casual fan. But that’ s OK.

5. There is no expiration (star)date for product placement.

Permission to insert jarring product placements into your futuristic sci fi movie Captain?

Permisson granted.

OK Budweiser, OK Nokia. We get it. There is room in the future for the popular cell phone networks and Amercian beer companies of today. We watch the film and we see the oh-so-subtle way that your products are incorporated into the movie. Like sheep, we immediately associate Nokia and Budweiser with the movie that we liked, and immediately start to buy more Bud and Nokia products.

Mission accomplished.

Here is the trailer for the film.

Despite your Monkey’s objections to commercialization, Star Trek is a good, fun movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should.

A little too late for that, Trojan Man

WARNING: may cause hallucination and hilarity

I do apologize, as this is a blatant “Avatar: The Last Airbender” reference.
For those of you not priviledged enough to have seen it, here is some youtubeducation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi-LOzzzui4
Don’t get used to me posting this often either all you out there in the ether, I just have nothing better to do with my time at the moment.
Thank You For Your Thyme!

A pesar de la regulación (o gracias a la inexactitud de la misma) el “product placement” está cada vez más presente en televisión. En los mejores casos de una forma natural, bien traída con el guión, pero en la mayoría de ellos el producto viene con calzador. Y es que puede ser normal que un personaje de una serie se dirija al frigorífico y saque una botella de leche con la etiqueta bien visible, pero comer frutos secos en un estudio de radio mientras se emite… pelín traído por los pelos, no? Y qué decir de esa clínica de audífonos instalada en un pueblo perdido de la costa asturiana?

Estos métodos se consideran por algunos más efectivos, pero es esta una visión que no comparto. Cuando llega un bloque de anuncios el espectador sabe lo que viene y no se siente “invadido”. Si quiere se levanta al baño o al frigorífico (a por esa botella de leche) y si se queda viendo el bloque de anuncios se instala en él una visión crítica de los mismos que sabe que no son objetivos y que intentan incentivarle a la compra. Pero cuando comienza de nuevo el programa el espectador se relaja, confía en que lo que se le está mostrando no quiere venderle nada…. Pero entonces… ZAS!! Ahí esta la botella de leche!! Y entonces el espectador se pone de nuevo en tensión… Y eso no le gusta.

Por eso creo que hay que cuidar cómo se traen los productos a escena y se enmarcan con el guión. Pero en lo básico está la adecuación del contenido a la marca…

MacFarlane, el creador de Family Guy ha visto cómo sus guiones se modificaban en numerosas ocasiones por motivos “comerciales” al tratar temas delicados. Y en otras ocasiones, como esta última, ha visto cómo Microsoft retiraba una acción en la serie porque se trataban temas “delicados”, como el incesto o chistes sobre el holocausto. En esta ocasión  se dieron cuenta antes de la emisión… Gracias a que aprendieron de un revés sufrido en una serie que también emitía FOX en el lanzamiento de Windows 7…

Vía: BusinessInsider

Whether paid product placement, sponsorship or just plain luck, Johnny Walker Black received some prime time love from Lady Gaga in her performance spot of her new song “Bad Romance.” Are brands forcing these opportunities or are artists doing this on their own. Either way, there is a natural fit and perhaps an opportunity..

Footage courtesy of ABC and AMA’s..

Der er mange googlere derude, der finder frem til mit lille site med ordene “der findes to slags mennesker”. I lander som regel på denne side, og jeg tror næppe, I googlede således for at læse mine arrigheder om cykeltyve og politibetjente. Ergo må I føle jer en kende snydt. Og det kan vi ikke have!

Nææh. Jeg tror faktisk, at nogle af jer i stedet ledte efter en af de mest populære Wullfmorgenthaler-striber gennem tiderne. Og den skal I da få.

Og nu vi er ved de to tegnere, så skal I få min egen yndlings (… angående de af jer, der ikke ledte efter noget i denne boldgade, well… you are on your own):

Og nu findes der jo sådan noget som ophavsretloven som siger, at jeg ikke bare må stjæle den slags billeder uden tilstrækkelig kildeangivelse, og jeg må slet ikke bruge dem til egen vinding. Egentlig må jeg vist kun gengive citater i henhold til almindelig citatskik (?), men det er jo lidt svært med tegneserier. Og dette er jo en servicemeddelelse. Markedsføring, om man vil. Men for at slå det fast, så skal I allesammen skynde jer over til wulffmorgenthaler.com og se alle striber, der nogensinde er lavet, og I skal huske at høre Morgenthaler i Mads & Monopolet, og I skal se hans animationsfilm, den med æblet og ormen – og I skal fandenhylemig også se det klip fra Det Nye Talkshow, hvor han tegner en ormekrop på kapelmester Gustafs face-in-a-hole. Priceless.

Mikael Wulff… lavede han ikke noget med en blå flodhest ovre på Zulu? Har nogen set ham siden?

"So don't become some background noise"

Spotify: a PR success, a service the world has grown to love and a potential game-changer for the music industry – but also a service which most of us have decided not to pay for. Instead, the majority of revenue remains reliant on advertising, users largely accepting an advert being played every half an hour as a small price to pay for having legal access to a myriad of music.

Yet over the weekend it emerged quite how insignifigant a money spinner this currently is for even the most popular artists. Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’ is one of the most popular tracks on Spotify, being played over a million times, yet a report claims that she has earned only $167 (about £100) from this. In view of the fact that many of the big music labels are given equity in Spotify in return for their artist’s material, this could understandbly lead to some anger – Swedish artist Magnus Uggla being a case in point.

Whether it is really relevant to measure the success of Spotify in this way remains to be seen as it is still a service in it’s infancy. Much like Twitter, it is phenomenally successful in terms of usability but is still finding its feet in terms of making money. As it continues to attract users it’s appeal to advertisers will grow and so to will the financial returns. How this filters down to the individual artist is then probably more of an issue with the labels than with Spotify.

If at this stage you instead view Spotify as a brand building tool to drive fans to the places which do make an artist money, it all becomes a bit more acceptable. After listening to a track on Spotify, many will pay to download the album, go to a gig or watch the video on YouTube – the latter being highlighted by Lady Gaga herself as one of the most lucrative touchpoints. The video for her latest single ‘Bad Romance‘ is a case study in product placement. The incredibly slick electro pop production includes products from Phillipe Stark, Nemiroff, HP, Nintendo and Burberry among others. Whilst there is always a danger that product placement in a video will translate to it becoming a glorified advert, each product has a logical role and is subtle enough to ensure credibility remains. For Lady Gaga (or her management) this means a big wad of a cash. By inviting the brands into her video It also means she can capitalise on her value as a brand endorsement whilst still playing by her rules. For the brands in question it means an instant association with a cool, headline grabbing personality. It also brings (at the time of writing) almost 17 million views and the knowledge that this video and brand exposure will stay online indefinitely. A win win situation.

@AJGriffiths

DISCLAIMER: HP is an Edelman Tech client.  @LukeMackay also has a Burberry coat, though no one pays him to wear it.   More’s the pity.

Z mojego ulubionego cyklu zabawnych komiksów,  czyli opisywane przeze mnie w tym poście paseczki z Wulffmorgenthaler.com. Jak zawsze skrupulatnie i do rzeczy. Co prawda to prawda, product placement jest bardzo widoczny, zarówno w telewizyjnych taśmowcach (standard) jak i wielkich kinowych produkcjach. Bardzo obłożone w PP są na przykład seriale rodem z TVN, niepodzielnie rządzi tutaj W-11 – serialiku którego wprost nie cierpię, przede wszystkim za “wyrafinowaną” grę aktorów, ale także Magda M, gdy jeszcze była emitowana, Na Wspólnej kipi od tego typu reklamy,natomiast Teraz albo Nigdy zostało nakręcone chyba tylko po to, aby reklamować produkty i zarabiać. Ani fabuły, ani przekazu, sądzę że jak zapłacą mi dwa razy tyle co aktualnie zarabiam – spłodzę dużo lepsze scenario. Po TVN wiadome jest, że największym dostarczycielem “przestrzeni reklamowej” dla firm i ich produktów będzie Polsat. Tak też jest. Stacja ta może emituje mniej pojedynczych PP w serialach i filmach niż TVN, natomiast suma ich wszystkich jest największa ze wszystkich stacji. Również publiczna TVP nie próżnuje. Zarówno Klan jak i Plebania są pełne tej jakże dyskretnej reklamy. Nie zapomnę nigdy któregoś odcinka, w którym to Grażynka z Ryszardem (ten od taksówki.. jakiej? tak – chyba fiat marea kombi, którą wygrał jego koleżka Cezary Żak i podarował Ryśkowi bo miał akurat szeroki gest..) wracają z zakupów i wykładają caaały stół w swojej malutkiej kuchni reklamówkami z Biedronki… to musi robić wrażenie, wiadomo na taksówce mało się nie zarabia, a poza tym w Biedronce “codziennie niższe ceny!” Pamiętam także kurczaka w folii do której wsypuje się przyprawy Winiar, a także PP herbaty Minutka w Plebanii. Ogólnie wszyscy jak mogą, tak wciskają, no ale w końcu i jednym i drugim to się opłaca. Szkoda tylko że nadal jest to nieudolne i przede wszystkim niekorzystnie wpływa na odbiór seriali i filmów przez telewidzów. Koniec końców to dla Nich są one tworzone prawda?

Mój ulubiony perwersyjnie chamski PP w Na wspólnej made by TVN oczywiście. Polecam as hell!

Miażdży owa czterominutowa reklama moje marketingowe serce..

A tak Sony promowało się w filmie o Bondzie. Swoją drogą te produkcje zawsze są obfite w PP, wg mnie nie ma bardziej usianego reklamami produktów filmu w przeciągu ostatnich kilku lat.

]]> http://viapopuli.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/tv-imitates-the-internet-everybody-wins/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:15:34 +0000 viapopuli http://viapopuli.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/tv-imitates-the-internet-everybody-wins/

Cox and NBC are blurring the line between television and the Internet with a trial run of “dynamic ad insertion.” The program allows Cox to display different ads to in the same program for video-on-demand users, just as different web surfers see different ads when they visit the same website. Cox is running the trial through MyPrimeTime, a portion of the company’s On DEMAND menu that lets viewers watch hit network programming the day after it originally airs. NBC is offering the trial to viewers of The Office and Monk, from NBC’s USA Network. Another wrinkle: fast forwarding through ads is not allowed with the MyPrimeTime feature, but Cox is allowing the option for the dynamic ads during the showings of Monk; this will allow Cox to gauge whether or not viewers fast forward through the dynamic ads.

As this on-demand viewing technology advances, viewers could see ads based on viewing habits, household size, preferred viewing hours—even based on which ads they skip and which they don’t. This change is a real coup for marketers as they try to reach viewers in the age of DVRs and time-shifiting. If this kind of technology is successful in trials like the one by Cox, and it makes its way to cable and satellite viewers in real time, marketers could target the dominant source for entertainment. Regardless of the quick rise by mobile- and web-based entertainment, television still rules.

Targeting through dynamics ads could lead to completely different—but more personally satisfying—viewing experiences. Take football games for example: The folks watching the game at the bar get ads for beer, potato chips, and pick-up trucks. Meanwhile, the family that usually does not watch football might still get a few beer commercials (it is a football game after all) but the rest of the ads might be for Disney vacations and school supplies.

Best of all, dynamic ad insertion might move us away from the dreaded on-screen product placement. Until then, I’m going to go enjoy a refreshing Coca-Cola!

E placut sa castigi!

E placut sa ai o idee, o viziune solida in spatele ei, s-o pregatesti in liniste si cu convingerea ca are potential si dupa aceea, binenteles, sa primesti si confirmarea publicului.

X-Bk, pasul urmator in domeniul e-reading a fost ideea prezentata alaturi de amicul meu Dan Petre de la D&D Research, la concursul de idei inovative de marketing (Marketing Arena) in perspectiva lui 2010, concurs desfasurat la finalul evenimentului Marketing 360, organizat de Evensys.

A fost cu-atat mai interesanta competitia, cu cat s-au inscris in concurs idei sustinute de nume extrem de sonore din industria de marcom. Amintim dintre acestia pe domnii Stefan Chiritescu (Head of Planning, Graffiti BBDO), Teodor Cucu (Head of Strategy, GMP), Claudiu Dobrita (Creative Director, Grey Worldwide Romania), Lorand (Boti) Balint (Head of Brand Communication, Leo Burnett Romania), Bogdana Butnar (Managing Director, MRM Worldwide Romania) si Bogdan Manea (Managing Partner & Creative Director, Brightness).

Ce aduce nou de fapt X-Bk si ce anume a facut castigatoare aceasta carte digitala, este rezolvarea unei mari probleme a cartilor in format digital: pirateria.

Cartile in format digital se pirateaza la greu. X-Bk transforma acest dezavantaj intr-un mare AVANTAJ!

X-Bk sunt concepute sa suporte contextual advertising. Practic e vorba de o noua forma de Product Placement. Asa vin fonduri de unde pot fi sustinute costuri privind reeditarea oricarei carti in acest format: X-Bk. Cred ca un astfel de produs poate fi atractiv pentru marketeri pentru ca in cazul cartilor target-ul este mult mai nisat decat in cazul altor categorii.

Va astept deci sa cumparati reclama in primul nostru X-Bk. Lansam curand o dezbatere in privinta alegerii titlului.

Pana una alta aruncati aici un ochi peste prezentarea sustinuta aseara.

This week’s Media Bites takes a look at how advertising continues to infiltrate all kinds of media. We first look at the use of Product Placement in films like Zombieland and X-Men Wolverine. We also look at a recent attempt by the Captain Morgan brand to pay NFL football players to strike the Captain Morgan pose during games. This technique is what the industry calls viral marketing, which is effective when the public starts to mimic what the use of the brand.

Subliminal marketing in the old sense was inserting a single frame of a product (a stunningly art-directed shot of an icy cold glass of Coke for instance) into a movie. The theory was that nobody knew they’d seen the frame, but they had – it was just too fast for them to register having seen it – then they all suddenly felt thirsty and raced to the snack shop for a Coke!

Subliminal advertising in that sense has been illegal in most countries for decades, but subliminal/incidental advertising in other forms is thriving.Why? Because it works. And it works at a sensory (touch, smell, taste, sight) level.

Why does it work? Simply, because the subconscious mind is mightier than the conscious mind when it comes to recognising and retaining sensory information. The same old basic theory applies but it’s not as sinister as single frame cuts: these days it’s everything from seeing products placed in movies and TV shows, to the smell of freshly-baking bread rolls at Subway, to the musical sound of the ice-cream van coming down the street on weekends.

Is it just me, or do laptops on TV and in film have never ending battery power? People seem to be able to use their laptops without ever having to charge them up and there’s no loss of speed or performance when they’re working on battery only. Why is mine not like this?

And while we’re at it, as soon as they open the lid, the screen is on, fired up, ready to go – even if they haven’t used it for ages. Even if mine is only sleeping, I still need to press a button and wait a good ten, twenty seconds for it to get going. And no, mine isn’t top of the range, I admit, but few of those characters would be able to afford such technology either.

Must be a bit like those mobile phone ads where they say in the small print ’some steps removed’.

Oooh, I’ve just had a thought. If we do get product placement on TV, will they have to put a disclaimer at the bottom of the screen to say ‘the computer doesn’t really do this, but we’re showing it in this way so you won’t get bored waiting’? Just wondering.

Cisco, 30 Rock

30 Rock’s approach to product placement is usually very funny. Pete’s, “Wow. This is diet Snapple?” interrupting Liz’s, “No, come on, Jack. We’re not doing that. We’re not compromising the integrity of the show to sell–” was quick, cute, and original. After discussing Verizon Wireless, Fey once looked straight into the camera and deadpanned, “Can we have our money now?” That moment felt so meta that I had to refer to Liz as Fey.

Cisco’s placement was done in jest. And yes, I know I said last week that I prefer the “if we’re going to do product placement, it might as well be a joke” style, but the Cisco gag felt wrong.  I get that joke’s over-the-top delivery was a meta critique of other shows’ failed attempts to incorporate product placement seamlessly into their scripts. But why bother making fun of other shows if it slows down the pace of your own? Maybe 30 Rock’s placement style is no longer funny because we’ve come to expect it. Maybe it’s only funny when it’s sleek and snappy.  Either way, Jack’s Cisco freak-out was undoubtedly this week’s Worst Product Placement.

INTRODUCCIÓN

Los tradicionales esquemas publicitarios y de marketing se han visto superados por un grupo de “nuevas formas” que, paradójicamente, hoy ya no resultan tan nuevas. Pese a su denominación, la publicidad no convencional, es en la actualidad la más convencional de las fórmulas publicitarias. Las clásicas y lineales vías publicitarias están colapsadas y no resultan ser del todo eficientes para satisfacer las crecientes aspiraciones de las empresas anunciantes.

Gran parte de los mensajes mutan indefectiblemente a ruido, y el grado de saturación en los canales típicos dificulta el retorno de la inversión para el anunciante, quien demanda nuevas y eficientes fórmulas para la consecución de sus fines.

Por tanto, es necesario nuevas formas de anunciarse y publicitarse. Una de esas nuevas fórmulas, hoy en día no tan nueva, es el product placement.

Antes de introducirnos en el product placement en la literatura, creemos conveniente hacer un recorrido por este fenómeno, para tomas las constantes vitales del mismo y así entender en que momento nos encontramos. El product placement es lo que fue, es y será.

Veremos en un primer momento una pequeña aproximación al concepto de product placement para saber exactamente de qué estamos hablando. Después nos remitiremos al la historia y los orígenes de este fenómeno y pasaremos brevemente por su régimen jurídico. A partir de ahí nos meteremos de lleno en las distintas disciplinas donde el product placement tiene cabida (cine, videojuegos, digital y teatro) viendo algunos ejemplos y claves de su éxito. Después de todo esto ya podemos hablar del product placement en la literatura.

APROXIMACIONES AL CONCEPTO DE PRODUCT PLACEMENT

Troup hace una aproximación al concepto de producto placement:

   “ El emplazamiento de producto en una película cinematográfica por parte de un anunciante o de un cineasta”

El diccionario de J. Walter Thompson de comunicación, marketing y nuevas tecnologías define el product placement como:

“Una expresión inglesa que significa “emplazamiento de producto”, y que se utiliza para denominar la técnica de comunicación que consiste en insertar estratégicamente productos comerciales en las secuencias o en los guiones de una película de cine o televisión con fines publicitarios. El placement ofrece la posibilidad de llegar a grandes audiencias, es altamente creíble, la marca o producto aparece sin competencia y proporciona una elevada credibilidad y rentabilidad”.

Para Steortz el product placement es:

“Toda inclusión de un producto, nombre de marca, envoltorio, diseño o cualquier otro artículo “marcado” en una película de cine, programa de televisión o vídeo musical”.

Como vemos en todas estas definiciones se habla de emplazamiento de producto en el cine, la televisión o en videos musicales, es decir en el ámbito audiovisual.

Dejando a un lado el product placement en otros soportes, como por ejemplo, los libros, que como veremos más adelante es un práctica más habitual de lo que a primera vista podría parecer.

La definición de Cristina del Pino y Fernando Olivares es más amplia que las que hemos visto hasta ahora:

“Es toda presencia o referencia audiovisual, verbal o visual, explícita e intencional de una marca (de producto o empresa; individual, sectorial o mancomunada; de persona física o jurídica), claramente identificable, lograda mediante una gestión y una negociación con la productora de contenidos, en el contexto espacial o narrativo del género de la ficción, especialmente cinematográfica y televisiva, al margen de la plataforma física por la que se emita”.

Para Alfonso Méndiz Noguero el product placement es:

“La inclusión de productos o servicios comerciales en obras cinematográficas o televisivas a cambio de un cierto pago o de una colaboración en la promoción de esas obras”

Más adelante, este mismo autor, ampliaría el espacio del product placement, con lo que la definición queda más completa:

“En el ámbito de la producción cultural: discos, novelas, producciones teatrales, etc.”

Además al final añade un etcétera con lo que no deja ningún cabo suelto en su definición.

Pero, la definición, más concreta del concepto de product placement es la de Miguel Baños y Teresa Rodríguez:

“El product placement consiste en colocar un producto, marca, servicio, … de forma intencionada en una obra audiovisual, gráfica o literaria, a cambio de una retribución económica o de cualquier otro intercambio entre la empresa y la productora, intercambio que puede ser de abastecimiento de equipos, asesoramiento, etc.”

Y nos parece la definición más acertada, porque es la más amplia tanto en el ámbito de aplicación, las acciones y la contraprestación.

Encontramos varios tipos de product placement (Cristina del Pino y Fernando Olivares):

1. Emplazamiento hiperactivo: existe interacción y manipulación entre el actor y la marca, que se integra como recurso narrativo en el guión. Encontramos a su vez, dentro de esta, dos categorías:
   1. Hiperactivo valoración: la marca no solo esta presente, sino que interactúa con el actor que emite algún juicio de valor sobre la marca.
   2. Hiperactivo mención: la diferencia con la anterior es que el actor no emite valoración alguna sobre la marca.
2. Emplazamiento verbal: incluye toda mención o alusión expresa que los actores hagan de las marcas. Puede ser:
   1. Verbal valoración: el actor, además de la mención emite una opinión, o juicio de valor sobre la marca.
   2. Verbal mención: el actor nombra asépticamente, sin más, la denominación de la marca.
3. Emplazamiento activo: existe manipulación e interacción entre la marca y el actor. No existe valoración ni mención a la marca, pero si puede existir comentario sobre el tipo de producto.
4. Emplazamiento pasivo: la marca se integra en el decorado, no habiendo vínculo interactivo entre esta y el actor. Se puede dividir en:
   1. Pasivo principal: la marca, aunque no interactúe directamente con el actor, supone una aportación pertinente y cualitativa al contexto de la acción.
   2. Pasivo secundario: la marca, en este caso, es un elemento figurativo o de atrezo, como parte del decorado; es algo accesorio, y por tanto, sustituible, y casi prescindible.

Pero, ¿Realmente influye el product placement en nuestra percepción de las cosas? Basta varios ejemplos en el cine para darnos cuenta que la respuesta a la pregunta es sí. Las películas no solo han influido en nuestra imagen de la realidad: de una artista, de una ciudad, etc. Si no que también han influido en nuestra actitud hacia un producto o marca concreta.

Por ejemplo, en la película “Sucedió un noche” (1934) el actor, Clark Goyle, aparece sin camiseta interior. El protagonista llega a un motel en una de sus paradas de su interminable viaje en autobús, se quita la camiseta para intimidar a la joven Claudette Colbert, que no quería irse de la habitación. Qué un idolo de la época, un actor de moda, apareciese sin esa prenda en la gran pantalla, propició que miles de americanos dejasen de utilizar esta prenda, con el consecuente descenso de ventas de los fabricantes.

El caso contrario sucedió con la película “La ley del silencio” (1954) en la cual el protagonista, Marlon Brandon sale en varias escenas con una camiseta, pero ya no la usa como camiseta de interior, sino como camiseta sport para salir a la calle, como un elemento básico para vestir. A partir de ese momento las T-Shirt se convertirían en símbolo de la informalidad y el rechazo a lo establecido, gracias al personaje interpretado por el actor.

Otra prenda que se puso de moda gracias a su aparición en el cine fue la rebeca que precisamente debe su nombre a una película: “Rebeca” (1940). La protagonista, Jean Fontaine, para subrayar su carácter sencillo, introvertido y tímido llevaba una chaqueta de punto. Era un símbolo visual constante de su carácter de Cenicienta en un mundo aristocrático que la rechazaba. El éxito de la película, que ganó el Oscar a mejor película hizo que la prenda se pusiera de moda.

En esa línea es el caso de la cazadora que James Dean lucía en la película “Rebelde sin causa” (1955). Esta prenda en su origen fue concebida como una indumentaria, como su propio nombre indica, para ir de caza. Pero, James Dean la portaba en la mayor parte del metraje, lo que hizo que se asociara la prenda con la personalidad del protagonista. Se convirtió en un símbolo de libertad y rebeldía que miles de jóvenes llevaban por las calles.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

• ­Brand Placement. Integración de marcas en la ficción audiovisual. Evolución, casos, estrategias y tendencias. Cristina del Pino y Fernando Olivares. Editorial: Gedisa. Estudios de Publicidad 25. Año 2006.
• Nuevas Formas Publicitarias. Patrocinio, Product Placement, Publicidad en Internet. Alfonso Méndiz Noguero. Publicado por la Universidad de Málaga. Año 2000.
• Product Placement. Estrella invitada: La marca. Miguel Baños y Teresa Rodríguez. Cie Inversiones Editoriales Dossat 2000. Año: 2003.

I was always fascinated by the fact that thinkers, inventors and artists like DaVinci had patrons, someone to pay the bills and worry about the little, annoying and boring details while the artist was free to dream, create and innovate.

The internet and social media today provide a perfect platform for artists to cultivate their followers, customers and now their own patrons.  Take for example Jamie Tanner, a graphic novelist.  Now, I don’t know Jamie or anything about his art, but I was struck by the ingenuity of the fund-raising program he developed for his future project.  Not only is Jamie asking his audience for money to fund his new project, but he’s offering fantastic rewards from sketch books and original art to inclusion in the new project as a named character, like a version of product placement for individuals instead of big brands.  Maybe this can be termed “personal placement” instead.

This isn’t the first instance of online fund-raising by a writer or artist, but it’s certainly an ingenious one.  Jamie should be applauded for his efforts, and for the fact that he’s already exceeded his fund-raising goal.

The artist and the audience are both winners here.

The artist can secure funding upfront for a project instead of relying on income once the project is completed and released to the marketplace.  The potential pain of self-funding a project is gone.  The artist can also involve the audience in the project early on and make the overall project more of a collaboration by building a bond between the audience and project itself right from the start.  Any interested parties would definitely enjoy the behind the scenes views of a work-in-progress.

The audience not only gets the joy of being involved in a project right from the beginning, but can actually become a part of the work.  What could be better than becoming a character in your favorite author’s new book?  Amazing.

And, again for the artist, building stronger relationships with your audience is key in this continually fragmenting, long-tail marketplace.  Instead of attracting a huge audience for your work by catering to the needs or desires of everyone (and thereby watering down your product), you only need to attract a small, passionate following to develop a wildly successful career.