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Just took my kids to see ZOOM.
Wow...
When I was a kid, I absolutely used to hate it when someone in a movie would be drinking a soda that suspiciously looked like a coke (red and white can), but just had SODA spelled out in Coke-like letters. I always thought the generic names were so lame, so I never really minded when product placement became part of movies. I mean, it sure as hell looks a lot more realistic to just see someone drinking a COKE instead of a SODA.
But how far is too far?
Zoom featured the following:
1. A robot actually named MR. PIBB because it was his duty at one time to fetch snacks.
2. A scene in which a girl demonstrates her mind powers by manipulating several M&Ms, all with their "M" proudly facing the camera (and very close up)
3. A scene where Tim Allen and company go to Wendy's. The scene drags on, showing the Wendy's logo tons of times in just a few minutes. They actually order from the menu, naming specific Wendy's items like Big Classics and Frosties. When the scene is over, Tim Allen can still be spotted carrying around his Wendy's bag with the logo clearly displayed.
4. A scene in which Tim Allen walks into the room carrying several boxes of Little Debbies.
I didn't even really start counting these scenes until the Mr. Pibb thing, so God only knows what I missed before that.
Is this going too far? Can you guys think of any movies that push even more than this? And Talledega Nights doesn't count in my opinion because it is spoofing Nascar, which is nothing but product placement on wheels. That movie managed to incorporate tons of product placement, but in a funny way that became part of the story- it was meant to be blatant and stupid.
Wow...
When I was a kid, I absolutely used to hate it when someone in a movie would be drinking a soda that suspiciously looked like a coke (red and white can), but just had SODA spelled out in Coke-like letters. I always thought the generic names were so lame, so I never really minded when product placement became part of movies. I mean, it sure as hell looks a lot more realistic to just see someone drinking a COKE instead of a SODA.
But how far is too far?
Zoom featured the following:
1. A robot actually named MR. PIBB because it was his duty at one time to fetch snacks.
2. A scene in which a girl demonstrates her mind powers by manipulating several M&Ms, all with their "M" proudly facing the camera (and very close up)
3. A scene where Tim Allen and company go to Wendy's. The scene drags on, showing the Wendy's logo tons of times in just a few minutes. They actually order from the menu, naming specific Wendy's items like Big Classics and Frosties. When the scene is over, Tim Allen can still be spotted carrying around his Wendy's bag with the logo clearly displayed.
4. A scene in which Tim Allen walks into the room carrying several boxes of Little Debbies.
I didn't even really start counting these scenes until the Mr. Pibb thing, so God only knows what I missed before that.
Is this going too far? Can you guys think of any movies that push even more than this? And Talledega Nights doesn't count in my opinion because it is spoofing Nascar, which is nothing but product placement on wheels. That movie managed to incorporate tons of product placement, but in a funny way that became part of the story- it was meant to be blatant and stupid.
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