A few weeks ago I went to see Cloverfield, but of course that’s not what this is about. I was really distracted from the oversized anime-esque monster by the overly blatant product placement. It was EVERYWHERE. When they cleaned their wounds in the subway, the water was provided by a conveniently placed AQUAFINA machine with an even more conveniently placed crowbar right next to it. When they’re on the street getting torn to pieces by the monster, the Sephora store was perfectly pristine.
Sure, product placement is inevitable. It pays for the stuff we see on the screen now as apposed to the use your imagination special effects that came before every action hero had to down a coke before base jumping off the world trade center. However I’ve really started to notice it everywhere I look, it almost feels insulting to my intelligence as a consumer.
It’s the Red Bull on Guitar Hero. It’s the constant advertisement in video games period, for that matter. I wonder if this subconscious crap actually works on people. Are there people out there so stupid as to be swayed by the advertising companies slipping them a Mickey in their video games?
It makes me wonder though, why does Dr Pepper taste better than Dr Thunder? Why are we determined to buy name brand products rather than their near identical generic counterparts? Could it be that we’re all subject to mass mind control?
That’s some scary stuff right there. It don’t make me happy. Really now I just want to walk around with my eyes closed and never look at anything again. Ever.
This brings me to something else I’ve noticed. Starbucks are on every corner in the nation and rarely do you see a commercial for them on TV besides the holidays when everyone is pushing gift certificates. You never see them advertised but watch ANY TV show or movie taking place in the past 20 years or so and you’ll see a late or starbucks-like drink. Do you think it could be some kind of no-name viral marketing scheme of sorts? Just put the idea in their heads then put stores on every corner to provide them the outlet for that desire.
It’s just something to think about. I think it’s fun to make a game out of, spot the commercials *between* the commercials, ya know. With every tv show you watch keep an eye out for the boxes of cereal labeled “crisp rice” if they have a label at all.