In the latest from the brandchannel, comes the 2008 brandcameo’s Product Placement Awards, which sampled readers from 90 countries searching for the best product placements of 2008.
Among the brand winners were: Ford, with placements in Transformers, I Am Legend, The Bucket List and American Gangster and LG, for the best Off-screen support.
That’s great for them. They paid big bucks to make it on the big screen so I guess they deserve the recognition.
What I was more than a little bit surprised about was that the indie film sensation Juno didn’t receive more positive recognition. I thought many of the product placements were beyond brilliant and most were just plain entertaining.
By far one of most my favorite placements was Paulie Bleeker’s infatuation for orange Tic Tacs, which was actually given a write-in jab for the “The Odd Couple Award” for most seemingly ineffective product placement.
I don’t agree with that at all. If it was ineffective, it’s because Tic Tac has neglected to capitalize on the exposure. What better way to inject some youthful energy into an old favorite?
A quick Google search for ‘juno tictacs‘ will give you an idea of the cult fan club brewing behind this little orange candy. One guy has even written a song about Juno and the history of tic tacs and posted it to YouTube. I guess it must be a paid product placement before the brand will take notice.
What a missed opportunity Tic Tac.
Oh, and don’t even get me started on the makers of orange Tang, that sugary Kraft Foods drink that has been in hibernation mode for the last 5 years. You’re right, I guess a pregnant teenage girl isn’t your ideal spokesperson. But that doesn’t mean you can acknowledge the fact that she is gulping down your product for most of the movie.
[Correction: It was Sunny D that Juno guzzled down during the opening scenes of the movie. Kudos to them for being bold enough to embrace this product placement. Thanks to ResidualPixel, aka Ryin, for helping me keep the facts straight.]
It was Sunny D, not Tang, and here is some further reading on the topic:
http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/02/25/story7.html
When I think of Transformers movie and product placement I actually think of Chevy introducing the rebirth of the Camaro. I’ll have to watch the movie again.