LONDON - If you've ever come out of the cinema hankering after a Pepsi, a Whopper burger or a spin in a Mercedes without knowing why, help is at hand.
Branding consultants brandchannel.com have launched an internet guide to the frequently bizarre world of movie product placement, the dark art by which consumer companies seek to gain exposure for their brands outside the normal context of ads.
The free-to-use Brandcameo website lists all of the subtle and not-so-subtle product placements from Hollywood blockbusters over the past two years, with some surprising results.
Soft drink giant Pepsi turns the table on arch-rival Coke in the product placement stakes, scoring no fewer than 13 placements in box-office hits since January 2003 ranging from "2 Fast 2 Furious" to "School of Rock."
Perhaps the most creative example of a Pepsi placement is in "Alien vs Predator" - a bottle cap found in an archeological dig is hung round the archeologist's neck. No Pepsi is consumed during the film.
Alongside the drinks giants it's the automakers that prove most proficient in getting their hardware on screen. Chevrolet, Cadillac, Ford and Mercedes all figure in the top 10 placement league, while hi-tech brands like Sony and Nokia also feature strongly.
Browsing Brandcameo throws up some strange bedfellows - "Hulk" features cameo appearances from Apple and Berkeley University, while "Spiderman" hosts eBay.
While some movies - usually historical, fantasy or science fiction releases - escape without any product placement at all, some contain more logos on display than the ads that run before them.
"Fahrenheit 9/11," for example, has appearances from at least 51 brands, ranging from Mister Frostee to Enron.
"Many other brands appear too quickly and too briefly to note," Brandcameo says in its dry commentary. "As a documentary, it shows just how branded the 'real' world is. Halliburton's placement may be the worst of 2004."
Meanwhile, even fantasy brands get a mention - "Shrek 2" is littered with references Versarchery and Farbucks coffee, while the "Harry Potter" movies offer an even finer example of life imitating art.
Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, which originally featured in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," are now available at a confectioner near you.
- REUETRS
Movie product placements get brand recognition
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