The World of Hollywood Product Placement

Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) using a MacBook Pro.

Product placement has been around since the age of silent films. Product placement took off in the movie E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial in 1982 when Eliot (Henry Thomas) lured E.T. into a trap using Reese Pieces. Since that time, product placement has become almost unnoticeable because the products look like they belong in the scene. There is not a movie or television series that does not use product placement.

Apple products are shown in 30% of the movies. Their products like the iPhone, iPad, iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook, and MacBook Pro have appeared in several movies including The Twilight Series, Mission Impossible 3: Ghost Protocol, Contraband, Safe House, and Chronicle.  In television, Dexter uses iPhones and MacBook. MacBooks are in Sex and the City, 24, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and House of Cards.  In the trial of the century (Apple vs. Samsung), Apple executives claim that they do not pay for the product placement.  Instead, they provide free devices for product placement in television and film. What production company will turn down free products to place in their television series or films? Apple products appear 891 times in television shows in 2011.  It is very smart on Apple’s part. Apple spends one billion dollars each year on advertising, and that does not include the products they give away for free to television series and movies. Their competitors – Samsung and Microsoft – spent much more than Apple on advertising.

Product placement has become extremely important particularly because of devices like Dish Network’s The Hopper, which allows the viewer to skip commercials during live television. It is because of this feature that Fox, CBS, and NBC have filed a lawsuit against Dish Network. Since product placement is within the television series episode and movie, devices like The Hopper cannot skip over them, and forces the viewer to observe the product in action. Since the product looks like it belongs in the shot, no one minds this type of commercial.