A “novel” way to advertise?
March 4th, 2007
Product placement in the movies is one thing - from James Bond driving a BMW to a Ferrari but ever imagine Sherlock Holmes recommending brands of pipes in his literary classic?
Well prepare for it - product placement and other subversive alternative advertising techniques have hit novels and popular literature.
Also known as product plugging - this type of advertising while controversial, is effective and proven.
One of the best-known instances of product placement appeared in 1982 movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which increased sales of Reese’s Pieces 65 percent. (Source wikipedia.org)
Other examples in movies and other media include:
- In Desperate Housewives, a popular American television series - three of the characters drive Nissan branded cars with camera view often focused on the Nissan symbol on someone’s car.
- The 1974 film The Man with the Golden Gun featured extensive use of AMC cars, even in scenes in Thailand, where AMC cars were not sold, and had the steering wheel on the wrong side of the vehicle for the country’s roads.
- or the example of exclusive Hewlett Packard computer placements in Ikea furniture catalogs
These inclusive examples are well known and common in most of today’s blockbuster films.
And while literature has always included examples of well known brands to help build scene or maintain a certain setting - new agreements between publishers, writers and brands showcase how novels have jumped on the popular product placement wagon.
