If you have seen any big budget film in your life, there is a fine chance that you've come across some form of product placement in film. Product placement is nothing new in films and, truth be told, I don't really have a problem with it, in certain cases. Films, especially big budget blockbusters, need money to get made and I have no problem with filmmakers using product placement to fund their film. However, there are many examples of product placement that people turn to to show how it can distract and cheapen a film, and bring down its overall quality. This article goes into what, I feel, is acceptable product placement and unacceptable product placement in film. First, lets talk about product placement that is perfectly acceptable in films.
The first positive example for positive product placement is "Thor." The first "Thor" film actually serves as a blueprint on how to use product placement in a, somewhat, subtle fashion. For example, Dr. Pepper actually has a good amount of product placement in the film. When I first saw the film I never noticed this. That's because the Dr. Pepper product placement was worked into the scene in a believable way. You see some Dr. Pepper glasses off to the side in a diner; that makes sense. You see a Dr. Pepper machine in the background of a short shot; that's somewhat subtle enough for it not to be distracting. The film never goes off track and never bends over backwards to display a product to the point where it feels like a commercial more than a film, which we will discuss later.
My second positive example comes from "Wayne's World." "Wayne's World" is a prime example of "having your cake and eating it too" when it comes to product placement. The film uses a hilarious self awareness when it comes to displaying it's product placement. The two main characters are discussing how product placement leads to "selling out" artistic values for cheap corporate gain, while displaying products such as Pepsi and Pizza Hut like they are in a straight up T.V. commercial. Wayne (Mike Myers) even looks at the camera just to hammer home the joke. "Wayne's World" has product placement, but masks it under jokes lampooning product placement. Is that hypocritical; maybe, but it is pretty funny.
Most examples of product placement, however, can be excessive or ruin a scene in a film. This is why most product placement has a negative stigma attached to it. An example of this comes from "Man of Steel." During the fight in Smallville, there are various amounts of distracting product placement. From Seven Eleven to a fight that literally happens inside an Ihop, the product placement feels extra distracting do to how violent and serious the battle is portrayed. This creates a massive tone problem and pulls me out of the film constantly. There is a serious scene between Superman (Henry Cavill) and a Military Colonel (Chris Meloni) after the fight that's ruined by the shot of the Colonel in front of a Sears that has just as much room in the frame as the character. The film bends over backwards to display it's product placement that it begins to feel less like a film and more like a commercial, because it feels like the product is more important.
I could go on about this all day. I could discuss how excessive product placement in a film can be very irritating in films such as "Transformers: Age of Extinction". This film has so many products that it shamelessly displays (there are shots in the film that only exist to show Bud Light bottles) that it feels less like a film and more like a two and a half hour commercial. However, the best way to get away with product placement is simple; make a good film. If you make your film entertaining and interesting, it will distract the audience from subtle forms of product placement. Look at "The Lego Movie"; by its very nature the film has product placement, but you don't care because the film is funny and has a good story. You can get away with a lot as long as you make a good film in the process.
