Product Placement in Movies as a Marketing Tool Has Many Advantages

Product placement in movies as a marketing tool has many advantages

Written by: Mei Lina Aruan

Student Number: 20193

Class: BPP4

Date: 14/06/2010

Since the invention of personal video recorder (PVR) such as TiVo which enable consumers to zip and zap 30 seconds commercial TV, the effectiveness of traditional advertisements has fallen recently. Through this phenomenon, advertisers have been aware and they need to find the most effective way to expose messages to consumers. Recently, the prominent of product placement has become popular among the marketers and advertisement agencies. They have been recognized that consumer is more likely to accept product placement prominence in movies. Therefore, it is no doubt that product placement has a huge probability success as a marketing tool to substitute ineffectiveness of traditional advertising.

Although some people think that product placement brings many negative effects to the consumer such as tobacco and alcohol shown in the movie, there is strong evidence that product placement carries a large benefit such as increasing of selling products and services, enlarging brand awareness of the products or services, attracting audience’s attention. This essay will argue that product placement as a marketing tool has many advantages which indeed outweigh the drawbacks.

Product placement is defined as an introduction of the products or services to the consumer by using television and cinema as a media (Nebenzahl & Secunder, cited in Drennan and McDonnell, 2005). Also, Gupta & Gould (cited in Drennan and McDonnell, 2005) define product placement in a more detail as “incorporating brands in movies in return for money or for some promotional or other consideration”. In the new release movie Iron Man 2, it is clear that the product is being placed when Tony stark drives an Audi R8 Spyder car. In the...