What's The Crime In Product Placement?

[Lightning Strykez!]

First Look: Fantastic Four's wheels
December 01, 2006 16:20 IST

Life, comic books, and movies have always borrowed heavily from each other, but you know superheroes have gone corporate when they start seeking sponsors.
Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer presents Marvel Comics fans with the first screen-incarnation of one of comicdom's most endearing superhero vehicles, The Fantasticar.
The car is characterised by a less aggressive, more friendly feel -- just like all of Mr Fantastic's inventions. For the movie, releasing in June 2007, Tim Slattery -- who made the Batmobile in Batman Forever -- designed the iconic wheels.
In the movie, the Fantasticar is powered by a proton accelerator, can hover, fly at 500 mph and break into separate flying machines.
In real life, Dodge Automobiles forked over $1 million to have their name on the front [see inset.] What's next? A Hayabusa for Ghost Rider? Bruce Wayne in a Lamborghini?
Don't be surprised if it happens.

http://in.rediff.com/movies/2006/dec/01look.htm

What's The Crime In Product Placement?
By Lightning Strikez!

*****​

When the above news story broke here today I noticed a few fans grumbling about the Dodge connection. It reminded me of similar complaints about the X-Games scene in the first film.

I don't know about you, but personally I scratch my head whenever fans speak against product placement in Marvel films. I don't get what their gripe is about. Is it such a far stretch to believe that Reed Richards would not purchase items from third-party vendors for his creations? Is it unreasonable to believe that said parties would not want their patent removed from their products illegally? Or....do we honestly expect him to kill animals to make the leather seats for the Fantasticar himself? Is his scientific mind supposed to make him so arrogant that he insists on forging hood ornaments from the gold in his privately owned mine instead of just buying one from Dodge?

These heroes may live in the CBM universe, but their world is essentially the same as ours. Seeing ads for various commercialized resources only adds to the relatability of the film in my opinion. So let me ask you SHH members: what exactly is so wrong about it?

Questions For Discussion:
1.) What is your opinion of Product Placement in CBMs?
2.) How much is "too much" product placement in a movie?


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[Willie Lumpkin]

I have no problem with the X-Games scene. In fact, I think it would have been less realistic without the ads.

I'm fine with the seats for the same reason you mentioned.

In some ways, product placement is REQUIRED for a believable film. In any given day, I use more recognizable products than I can count. They're a part of everyday life, and, without them, scenes will look unnatural.

I draw the line at the grill, because that just doesn't make sense. Unless they explain in the film that Reed partnered with Dodge to perform some fabrication work (which might be plausible) then the grill is going too far.

 

[Neto Magnus]

look, I don't mind product placement if it's subtle. Things that are in the background and aren't part of the story. We see it all the time in movies, tv and sports. That motorcross scene with all the billboards in the first film were fine by me. But there is a thing as too much.

How would you feel if the X-Jet for example was built by Toyota? Now I know Cyclops drove a Mazda designed specifically for that movie but that was just some random car. The Fantasticar is just as important as the characters. Slapping a Dodge logo on that would be the same as their uniforms having company logos on them. I mean what if they looked like this:

I'm all for product placement but not if it's going to be obvious.

 

[Malus]

It doesn't particularly bother me. Not nearly as much as the Burger King placements did in FF1. In fact I find this Dodge thing kind of amusing.

I wonder if there will be FF-related Dodge ads?

 

[highguard]

Lightning, dodge may have something to do with the car but I think the text in that image is fake, when you blow up the original I can't see any text.

Someone may be playing with us.

 

[Neto Magnus]

yea you can. just barely.

 

[Carp Man]

It's subtle, not obvious. It's not like it is a flashing neon plate. I have no problem with it because it is not in your face advertising. The X Games in the 1st movie was totaly what I call smash mouth advertising. In your face, you can't miss it. That is when in my opinion it is too much. When it detracts from the enjoyment of a scene.

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

It's subtle, not obvious. It's not like it is a flashing neon plate. I have no problem with it because it is not in your face advertising. The X Games in the 1st movie was totaly what I call smash mouth advertising. In your face, you can't miss it. That is when in my opinion it is too much. When it detracts from the enjoyment of a scene.

Have you ever been to the X-Games in real life? The scene is identical. So again, I don't understand the issue.

Sponsors do what sponsors do.

 

[highguard]

Man the more I see that car the hotter it looks, it has a Sci Fi feel to it. Man it is certainly not the bathtub but it is the spirit of the Stan and Jack issues like the ship they took to the microverse.

And it is new and exciting.

Give that guy Flattery more work!!

 

[Fantastic-Boy]

No one problem with that!

 

[Halcohol]

LOL I didn;t even notice the dodge symbol until I found this thread.

Who cares, the average fan isn't going to notice. Besides, the first movie had noticeable product placement from Burger King.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Bruce Wayne in a Lamborghini?

Actually Bruce Wayne did drive a Lamborghini in BB

I had no problems with the X Games scene having all the adds as that is how it is however I'm not sure about the Fantasticar being a Dodge rather than a unique Reed creation

 

[Halcohol]

Actually Bruce Wayne did drive a Lamborghini in BB

I had no problems with the X Games scene having all the adds as that is how it is however I'm not sure about the Fantasticar being a Dodge rather than a unique Reed creation

The whole point is that none of them are rich and that they have to have sponsors. That's why there's product placement.

 

[3 Dev Adam]

The whole point is that none of them are rich and that they have to have sponsors. That's why there's product placement.

Makes total sense. The comic book FF even has a friggin memorabilia store at the lobby of the Baxter Building.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

For the most part, it's a big win, win.

I don't know how many of you remember, but Polaris Victory Motorcycles worked a deal with the producers.

In the original draft of the script, it said Johnny was riding a "Harley", but Victory must have offered a better deal (and personally, I think Victory is cooler than Harley). The motorcycle was a prop. They needed something, the only way to do that scene that would please a militant anti-product placement person would be to fabricate a non-brand prop motorcycle. That would be stupid, expensive and less realistic than having him ride a Victory.

Victory then offered cross-promotion. They offered FF T-Shirts to anyone who would test-ride one. (I did the test ride, but they hadn't gotten the T-shirts yet. They said they'd send me one, but never did. ), so the movie promoted the motorcycle, the motorcycle promoted the movie and the quality of the film didn't suffer in any way.

Oh, and now that we know the Dodge connection, we know why Johnny is driving a McClaren SLR instead of a Ferrari in the sequel. Another example in which the product placement may have actually improved the film by leading to a cooler, less obvious vehicle than they might have used otherwise.

 

[Taiwarriorz21]

Dodge is just trying to advertise...That's just how things go. It doesn't bother me. I liked that Bruce Wayne arrived at the hotel in the Lamborghini with 2 dates. Katie Holmes wasnt ever impressive in the movie, but anyways businesses just think that it's good to throw their logos out there for people to remember "Oh yeah The Fantastic Four had a Dodge!" It looks good for the movie and the companies.

 

[3 Dev Adam]

If Dodge builds a Fantasticar that can fly, I'll buy it.

 

[Iron Maiden]

Product placement can be a positive thing if it helps the budget too. Ryan Murphy for example, explained that one of the characters on Nip/Tuck order "Absolut, neat" because that gives him that much more money from the sponsor, over and above the commercials that play during the breaks. They can use to get some of that money to pay for the music licensing required when they use say, a Rolling Stones song as background music. Partnering up will a sponsor like that could give Tim a little more money for something the studio would spring the cash for I suppose.

 

[DOG LIPS]

In real life, Dodge Automobiles forked over $1 million to have their name on the front [see inset.]

Nuff said.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Iron Maiden!!! *Waves*t:

 

[TripleF]

No problem with product placement. The parts have to be from somewhere, design and idea from Reed's mind.

X-games scene, is EXACTLY, what these games look like. EXACTLY.

If Coca-cola is splashed in every scene. Then yeah, small problem. Dodge insignia on some parts of the car. No problem. Though I'm a Ford man, I have no problem with Dodge. I might have had something to say about Toyota.

 

[DOG LIPS]

As said, product placement really helps a movie in many ways. It's reality to see a McDonalds in the background of a scene, or see someone buy a Red Bull. Imagine if you had $20 mill to make a movie. Then Pepsi came up and said they'd give you $3 mill to have a Pepsi can on your main character's table in a scene. That's $3 mill more you can spend on effects or some such, and why wouldn't a human have a soda?

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

Maybe a director thinks that a particular character wouldn't be caught dead to drink a Coke or to eat a BigMac. I have a friend who works in product placement for movies here in Italy, and he has a lot of problems when he has to deal with directors who have an "artistic" background, because they are not keen on accepting brands in their movies. But the ones coming from advertising, they're used to it.
And sometimes his work is fun, like trying to figure out what kind of products you can advertise in a movie with Napoleon.

 

[TripleF]

For some reason, I have a feeling those griping about the product placement, can't seem to find anything really wrong with the car. BUT, they have to gripe about something, cause, well thats what they do. So PRODUCT PLACEMENT, DAMN DODGE. RUINING THE ARTISTIC INTEGRITY OF THIS MOVIE.

 

[Obi-Ron]

I find product placement insulting to the viewer and demeaning to the subject of the movie.

I pay good money to go to the movies. If I wanted to watch commercials, I'd stay home and watch TV for free.