Blame it On the Alcohol... 

  

The summer of 2009 was epic for me. A group of friends and I formed a grouped. We called ourselves "The Secret Society." We traveled, partied, and just enjoyed life as young college students. I remember the same summer Actor, Comedian, and singer Jamie Foxx came out with a hit song called "Blame it on the Alcohol." The song was an instant hit and I remember dancing to the song at the local club. When the video was shot, there were cameos from actors. Actor turned film director Ron Howard was even featured in the video.There was one thing that also stood out besides the buffet of actors and actresses in the music video. The alcoholic drink Nuvo was placed in the video as well. This was a new drink that people were raving about around the world. Nuvo was pink and delicious. It was promoted by high class people and it was the focus on the Jamie Foxx video. Little did I know the company who produced this drink was placing the drink in the video to promote the drink. 

  

As I got older, I realized what product companies were doing they were strategically placing products on music videos, TV shows, and movies to promote consumers to purchase the items they were showcasing.  When the Jamie Foxx video premiered, I was excited about trying the new drink and went to the local store and purchase a bottle of Nuvo.  I can't even count how many times, I have bought a item due to seeing it on television.  Hubspot.com compiled a list of 13 Unforgettable Examples of Product Placements in Movies, TV & Music Videos. The list goes as follows: 

1) Pizza Hut, Doritos, Reebok, Nuprin & Pepsi in Wayne's World (1992) 

2) Reese's Pieces in E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982) 

3) Dr. Pepper in 90210 (2008) 

4) Ford Fusion in New Girl (2012) 

5) Coca Cola, Miracle Whip, Polaroid, Virgin Mobile & More in Lady Gaga's Music Video, "Telephone" (2010 

6) Heineken in Skyfall (2012) 

7) BMW Z3 in GoldenEye (1995) 

8) BMW Mini Cooper in The Italian Job (2003) 

9) Ray-Ban in Risky Business (1983) 

10) Volvo in Swedish House Mafia's Music Video, "Leave The World Behind" 

11) Nike in White House Down (2013) 

12) Marlboro, Coca-Cola & KFC in Superman (1980) 

13) Manolo Blahnik in Sex and the City 

As you can see product placement has been going on for ages. It’s not cheap for companies to place their products in media. It can cost anywhere from 3 to 10 million dollars, but the benefits outweigh the initial cost. For example, when Hershey’s decided to showcase Reese’s Pieces in the movie E.T., this cause Hershey’s stock to increase by 65%. By showcasing products companies can triple their profits. 

Product placement is just not for television. The popular search engine Google is racking in the big bucks as well. In Shara Tibken article:  Google makes more money from ads than print media combined. In this article Tibken states that” The search giant generated $20.8 billion in ad revenue in the first six months of 2012, while newspapers and magazines in the U.S. made $19.2 billion, according to Statista. The article also states: Google raked in $20.8 billion in ad revenue in the first six months of 2012, while the whole U.S. print media generated $19.2 billion. Very impressive!  

I’ve also noticed a lot of product placement on Instagram. Some companies use some of the most popular personalities on Instagram to showcase their products. One of my favorite personalities is  @dr.laurenelise. She is what I call a “It Girl”, an opinion leader, a promoter on Instagram. Lauren is always showcasing new products that companies give her to promote. Every week she does a video to showcase what different companies have sent to her for free. For example, just recently called Daniel Wellington sent her a watch and bracelet set.  The company is fairly new, and many people would not know about the company without the influence of Lauren or other popular personalities.  

As you can see product placement is everything!