Product Placement In Popular Shows

Whenever you are watching your favorite shows, you may have never noticed when a product is being placed in the storyline. This is a very popular marketing strategy used nowadays in almost every movie and television show you watch. Here's a list organized by oldest to newest shows with some interesting examples of the unique ways of how this strategy is used.

Modern Family and Apple

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This episode of modern family titled "Connection Lost" unfolds within the confines of a MacBook Pro screen and greatly relies on the iPhone, FaceTime, iMessage, Safari and other Apple creations. This is not the first time that Apple was included in Modern Family's storyline. In the first season, Phil was given a brand new iPad for his birthday before it was even released in the market. The storyline was criticized by some as an egregious Apple endorsement. But the show producers said that this was just a way of making the show more real and that Apple didn't pay for it. Either way, their products were featured in every single minute of an episode of one of ABC's top rated TV series.

New Girl and Ford Fusion

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If you know nothing about the 2013 Ford Fusion you just need to watch this episode of New Girl and you'll learn everything you need to know. The writers incorporated this product to the storyline and it actually looked like a two minute commercial where Jess awkwardly tried to model at a car show. While she tried, and greatly failed, to walk on those huge heels, a brand representative was talking on and on about the new car’s many characteristics. It wasn’t a subtle placement and some viewers had a negative reaction because of this. But they can't deny that it was hilarious watching clumsy Jess attempts at modelling.

House of Cards and Apple

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This award winning show about the obscure and scandalous world of politics has plenty of products placed in it with Apple being one of the major placements. Frank and his staff are often seen using Apple products and Claire has an iPhone herself. Apple has claimed many times already that they do not pay for their products to be promoted but they do provide a large amount of merchandise to production houses. In fact, Apple heavily relies in free product placement in movies and TV shows as one of their marketing strategies.

Jane the Virgin and Target

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This is a hilarious show based on a Venezuelan telenovela. The storyline follows Jane Villanueva, a religious latina who was a virgin and got artificially inseminated by accident. Not a big deal right? Either way… There are plenty of product placement on this show and one of them is Target. Jane loves the department store very, very, very much. In fact, Target is part of Janes’ personal brand, as almost everything in her closet is bought from them. The show surely helps Target’s attempt to brand their clothing products as a representation of American women.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schimdt and Pinot Noir

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Tina Fey’s series, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, has become very popular in the past few years. In the show, fan favorite character Titus, made viewers laugh with his rendition of original song titled “Pinot Noir.” The instant sensation has driven fans to buy “Pinot by Tituss Burgess,” a wine brand inspired by the fame garnered because of the show. The medium bodied wine is described as having "aromas of dried fruits, slate, subtle rosemary, coriander and roses," and is $25 a bottle. Everybody wants to try it after watching this episode!

Mr. Robot and Samsung

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Everybody loves Elliot in Mr. Robot. Even if he is a profesional hacker who suffers from social anxiety disorder and depression. But you know, none of that matters. There are a few brands that are visible in the show and there are others that go unnoticed. One of the most obvious is the Samsung Galaxy S5 that Elliot is holding in the picture, which appears often in the show. This has given Samsung some publicity since the show already won many awards, including a Golden Globe for best TV show and an Emmy for outstanding leading actor. One interesting fact about placements in this show is that producers have to be very careful with the products they include in the storyline because some of the technology and software used for hacking cannot be run in other models than the ones shown.

Stranger Things and Eggo

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Finally, this newly acclaimed award winning show has left their fans with anticipation for the upcoming season. Amobee, the marketing technology company, claimed that Stranger things’ season 2 trailer generated 307,000 tweets during the Super Bowl LI, making it the most talked about brand during the game. In fact, the trailer features a retro Eggo commercial (Eleven’s favorite food) making the brand one of the trademarks of the show.