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“Transformers”: We live in an age when product placement in Hollywood films is tolerated. Fine. But this Michael Bay-directed exercise in excess really crossed a line with its grating, shameless promotion of Mountain Dew and GM cars. If you want to do a commercial, just stop the flippin’ movie and hawk a sugary soda or a new Camaro, why don’t ya? Shia LaWhoozits-Labeouf’s John Cusack imitation was the only tolerable thing in this noisy, CGI-drunk toy ad. Naturally, it made a mint at the box office.
The late-night talk shows are due to resume live competition tonight (Wednesday), with David Letterman expected to take over as the ratings leader. Letterman’s company, Worldwide Pants, negotiated a separate deal with the Writers Guild of America last week, which will allow him to return to the air with a full complement of writers. Jay Leno will return sans writers, since his program is produced by NBC, a struck company. Letterman will also have the additional advantage of being able to include celebrities who are members of the Screen Actors Guild, which has urged its members to shun other talk shows. As a result, he has been able to book Robin Williams as his first guest on his CBS TV show tonight; Leno’s guest will be Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee. (Before the deal with the WGA was signed, Letterman had said that Donald Trump, who is not a SAG member, would be tonight’s guest; he has been bumped to Friday.) All eyes at the networks and at the ad agencies are likely to be on ratings results later this week. The New York Times quoted a representative of Worldwide Pants as suggesting that more people may initially tune in to view the struck shows to “check out the potential train wrecks.”
When the 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR launches this spring don’t be surprised if there’s some confusion over what the letters “KR” stand for.
While the super car has been known to racing fans as “King of the Road” since 1968, it’s about to star in a remake of the hit TV series Knight Rider making mix-ups inevitable.
“It’s purely a coincidence and a nice one at that,”" said Al Uzielli a senior advisor, to Ford Global Brand Entertainment the Ford office in Beverly Hills which works to place Ford branded vehicles in movies, TV and other media. “Auto enthusiasts will know what KR stands for. But most viewers will probably think it means Knight Rider; at least at first.”
The popular American television series which ran from 1982 to 1986 starred David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight, a kind of modern day “knight”. His partner was an advanced Pontiac Trans Am with artificial intelligence. Not only could it talk, it could morph into an attack vehicle that accelerated to 300 mph, used a Turbo Boost to jump over obstacles and even drive itself.
In the new version, Hasselhoff returns, but the lead character is now Justin Bruening who plays Knight’s long-lost son Michael Tracer. Replacing the Pontiac is the KR which in real-life is about to launch a 40th anniversary limited edition with an engine output estimated at 540 horsepower. Read the rest of this entry »
The curtains are slowly rising on Nokia’s big-ticket foray into the internet services space under the Ovi brand in India. The Finnish mobile phone major intends to customise its offerings for the Indian market with a focus on Bollywood, cricket and astrology. There will also be a host of India-specific services to complement the content.
For starters, Nokia has entered into multiple partnership with Indian firms for such services. These include tie-ups with Infomedia India (for yellow page services), the South India Music Companies Association (for music content) and with other popular music labels. It will also create a local search option. Nokia India plans to roll out Ovi in the first half of 2008.
NEW YORK In a world where Tay Zonday is the best thing to happen to Dr Pepper since its 1970s’ “Be a Pepper” campaign, it can be hard to predict which ads consumers will like and which they’ll hate. But knowing which trends will take off can help guide you in the right direction. Some have yet to gel, while others—those featured in our “10 Trends of 2007″ [Adweek, Dec. 17]—we predict will get even stronger. The idea of authenticity, from a brand being true to its roots to companies making claims they can actually back up, will continue to resonate. Handmade-, not just homemade-, looking ads will go beyond amateurish user-gen videos to mashups of all forms and stripes. Visually, expect your outlook, if not your work, to be influenced by BRIC, as creative types turn to these for inspiration. And keep an eye on the fast-growing, and changing, world of video gaming, as companies design more casual games than ever for demos young and old, opening up new types of in-game advertising, such as innovative sponsorships and mobile tie-ins. Here, a look at what to expect, with input from experts from a variety of fields both in and outside advertising.
Spotting product placements helps me stay awake during bad movies. I love watching how a character either uses a product like anyone might or arranges his or her grip so that the label can be seen clearly.
On television, product placement is serious business. The Daily News offers a strong story on the trend, revealing just how successful it can be when properly utilized. The story warns about overuse, but I think the public will gradually grow numb to the process. I used to shake my head at the sight of advertisements on minor league stadium walls. Then, the big leagues adopted the ads, and I’ve grown used to seeing them when an outfielder races toward the warning track. I suspect the same will be true for future product placement. What we scoff at today will be another part of the television landscape tomorrow.
How much does Michael Bay love the gadget community? Enough to make an Xbox 360 transform and attack someone — that’s how much. Transformers not only featured traditional product placement in the way of clearly branded Panasonic memory cards, Nokia phones and HP laptops, but it also took things a step further by turning the character “Frenzy” into a GPX Boombox. We’ve got our fingers crossed for a transformed Zune/iPod brawl in the sequel. Full Story
The Worldwide Pants-WGA interim agreement could point the way for other companies to solve their little parts of the ongoing writers strike and get back to work.
The WGA said this week that the deal, which was announced Friday, had turned heads in the industry.
“There are certainly a lot of people who are contacting us interested in making similar deals,” WGA East president Michael Winship told The Hollywood Reporter. He declined to name the companies but said the guild would, as it did in the case of the Worldwide Pants accord, do deals selectively. Full Story
We already wrote about the orange Tic Tacs that appear and are mentioned numerous times in the buzzworthy film Juno. Add Coca-Cola to the mix as well. Did you see the movie? What’d you think? Spot any other placements? Tell us below…
The Web’s emergence is forcing ad executives to succumb to marketers’ demands that agencies reinvent how ads are created, and forgo their TV-centric approach. Clients are even calling for changes in the way ad firms are structured. But until now, few advertisers have spent more than 5% to 10% of their marketing budgets online. With the growth of online video and social networking, ad experts expect that percentage to jump significantly this year.
Softness in the economy also will likely drive more money …
