10 Hidden Movie Ads That Aren’t So Hidden

According to statistics, only 10% of viewers see advertisements on TV. “What if, instead of showing commercials on TV channels, we made inserts in feature films? It’s great!” That’s what those responsible for some world-famous brands thought, creating the phenomenon known as product positioning, or merchandising, a strategy that, here in Brazil, it is also very common in soap operas.

In general, the items appear quickly, but the strategy proves to be effective: if James Bond saves the world using brand X glasses, sales of that brand multiply. In fact, it’s an art form that even has its annual award: the Brandcameo Product Placement Awards. But the creators of this art sometimes go too far, ruining everything by leaving overly visible marks on film productions.

O awesome.club gathered cases of advertisements in the cinema that make the producer want to shake and warn: “don’t do that anymore!”

It is unlikely that the Marlboro truck will accidentally appear alongside the protagonists and be sacrificed for a fight scene. But that’s not all: later, Superman launches General Zod directly into a Coca-Cola advertisement.

Michael Bay’s films are very useful for studying the phenomenon of film advertising. Of course, we take into account the fact that their blockbusters require a lot of money to produce, so a lot is forgiven. But when a substance that can change into anything suddenly turns into an elegant Beats-branded speaker, it’s because something may have gone too far. More than an Autobot with a harmless advertisement for Oreo cookies in the background.

In an episode of the American cartoon ‘Flintstones’, the protagonists, despite being non-smokers and living in prehistory, were very natural when promoting Winston cigarettes. Despite the scene being very funny and ironic, the creators of the series were criticized for having approached a topic considered inadmissible by many, despite the sarcastic format. This made the screenwriters decide to replace cigarettes with beer. Detail: the cigarette brand sponsored the cartoon in the 1960s, when it aired. And even back then, when smoking was considered glamorous, merchandising caused controversy.

Every car is a Mercedes, every electronic device is a Samsung. Look at the photo above: even the dinos training center was developed by Samsung. On the Internet, there is even a movie trailer with the modified title. Instead of “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”, the film is presented as “World of product positioning”. It seems that publicity has forced its way into every scene of the film. See the one below, for example:

“Crown the Magnificent” is a good example of how advertisers are able to even enter a project in a super subtle way. In the midst of a serious conversation, the protagonist stands up abruptly, as if for an advertising break, and approaches a soda vending machine, reminiscent of a well-known brand… And as if by chance, he begins to take the drink quietly, showing the can to spectators.

In general, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have always promoted pizza. Admittedly, it was a good move. But the publicity rant about the likes Splinter gave in the 2014 film adaptation made even real Pizza Hut fans blush… and the turtles themselves.

Converse sneakers (here in Brazil, All Star) fit perfectly into the protagonist’s image. But the unnecessary focus on footwear and the almost advertising lines repeated by its owner are even embarrassing. Luckily, Will Smith is still charming!

Bollywood producers (a kind of Hollywood in India and one of the most profitable film industries on the planet) really know how to hide advertisements in their films. There are so many examples that it would even yield an entire post. So just take a look at one of the most classic examples: the scene from the movie ‘Comedy of Errors’, with the Tide brand washing powder in the corner of the screen.

Here we have an example of a pseudo product positioning: the character of Zak Halifianakis is transporting fake bags of the famous brand and, the most curious thing, treats them with the same care that he would dedicate to original pieces. But Louis Vuitton representatives were so angry and offended by the use of their brand image in the film that they denounced Warner Bros… But in the end, the filmmakers got the better of the court.

Hollywood’s standard value for advertisements like this starts at US$ 22 thousand.
For comparison, the average cost of producing a traditional television advertisement and broadcasting it on a channel is US$ 392,500. However, as we have already stated, this advertising only reaches 10% of consumers. The total income from hidden advertising on the 23rd James Bond film “007 – Operation Skyfall” has surpassed the US$ 45 million🇧🇷

$24.6 billion: this was the total income of American studios from this type of advertising in 2009 alone.
Apple usually advertises more than any other company.

An example of product placement (or, in the language of advertisers, ‘product placement’) is ‘Castaway’, by Robert Zemeckis. To this day, no one has been able to craft an advertisement more successfully than this one. The protagonist works at the shipping company FedEx, whose logo appears 51 times on the big screen. Wilson’s sporting goods company ball ended up becoming a character in the film, bringing tears to many viewers. But in this case, the advertising has nothing to do with it, as it was inserted into the script in a very clever way. Detail: neither FedEx nor Wilson paid for their brands to appear in the film; they only authorized the use of the images—but, of course, they gained huge exposure without having to shell out a penny.

Do you remember other examples of (not so) hidden advertisements in movies or soap operas? Comment!