Product placement is an advertising technique in which companies pay a fee or provide services in exchange for a display of their products. It is primarily used in connection with the movie industry. One infamous example of product placement occurred in Steven Spielberg's movie ET. Originally the alien creature was supposed to be lured out of hiding by following a trail of M&M chocolate candies. The company which produces M&Ms, however, did not wish to have their product associated with an unproven and potentially unmarketable movie. A rival company agreed to provide a similar candy called Reese's Pieces. The movie became a huge financial success, and the product placement boosted sales of Reese's Pieces substantially.
Brand content to me is about a brand creating content that flows from its conceptual brand idea. Great examples of this include Axe's Gamekillers or Order of the Serpentine where the brand created programming based on the brand's premise of being 'your best first move'.
I dont think that product placement and branded content as troublesome but putting this in the context of Hypercommercialism, it warps society's values while at the same time degrades the environment. The way we think and what are values are surely come to us through the media, mainly ADVERTISEMENTS. Everywhere we look we see or hear an ad. TV and radio fill an average of 20% with commercials now days, making it virtually impossible for any of us to not be affected by commercials. Not only are we being persuaded to chose one brand over the other, but we are being pushed to spend, spend, spend and get as deep into debt as possible and buy, buy, buy. From an early age we are attacked by advertisers and our minds are programmed to think in a commercial way. I believe this has ultimately skewed our perception of reality and it has made our lives not better but rather more miserable.
marketers' planned obsolescence of products. Manufacturers through their marketing advertising agencies, instill in consumers the notion to always buy new not used goods. So we as consumers need to avoid getting sucked into the "suburban consumer grind" of letting "things" control us but instead of us controlling "things".
http://garethkay.typepad.com/brand_new/2006/04/branded_content.html
http://www.scambustersusa.com/articles/Advertising_and_Marketing/hypercommercialism.shtml
http://mediapursuit.wordpress.com/2007/10/31/product-placement-hypercommercialism-and-other-issues-affecting-public-interest-in-america-today/
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Advertisements in a way, yes, persuade people to spend, spend, spend. However, if we are able to control ourselves from getting influenced by those ads, we are able to prevent ourselves from spending the unnecessary money.
ReplyDeleteYes, we are being persuaded by the marketing advertising agencies to believe that 'new means good' so buy new. Spending might not be the case as long as you have the ability to control yourself from spending the unnecessaries.
ReplyDeletePeople can control what to spend but the desire of having those products in the movies or music video is quite strong..Most people felt like the product is a must to have them.
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