Product Placement

[alexwhitmer]

Let me start by saying I am NOT a Brittany fan by any stretch. Best to keep my opinions silent. However, watched her new video 'Hold it against Me' and felt like was watching an advertisment instead of a music (gack) video.

I won't even call this a half-assed effort to hide it.

Question is, how much content control do these folks have over any paticular 'art', including film? Would a multi-national placing products in a film have say over a particular scene or scrap of dialogue? Can they 'oversee' a final rewrite?

Just curious. Hard to imagine Nabisco placing a product in Lady Gaga's 'Telephone'.

a

[Brad Webb]

I've heard that some rappers, singers, songwriters get paid to mention specific brands in their songs. Patron and Blackberry are two companies that come to mind that have paid for this.

[Julio Quintana]

She reportedly pulled in $500K for the product placements:

http://www.artistdirect.com/entertainment-news/article/britney-spears-earned-500-000-for-product-placements-in-hold-it-against-me-video/8718500

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but it seems to be making some obscure statement about showbiz and her own career. Her old videos are playing on TV monitors everywhere, they show slates and cameras, and she has a fight with herself.

[Rob Ruffo]

There's nothing wrong with this - it's not like using one brand of computer or makeup as props is going to affect integrity at a story or visual level. I find weird invented generic brands, like cans that just say "soda" are way more distracting than a real brand.

This is helping music video revive.

[Peter Matthes]

I'm fairly sure that "Whip My Hair" by Willow Smith is a commercial for aspirin.

God ... I miss the 70s.

[Gavin Greenwalt]

I knew Britney's career was doing badly, but Plenty of Fish haha. I didn't know it was a product placement, I thought it was a clever commentary on vapid consumerism and an over media saturated pop culture climate. ;)

What they aren't saying in the news reports is that the $500k is from companies paying to be cut from the video.

[Sean Lee]

I'm fairly sure that "Whip My Hair" by Willow Smith is a commercial for aspirin.


haha!