The Age of Advertising
But in order to sell their product as the years went on, they had to sell a bigger plan; keeping up with contenders was difficult, and in an article by Deron Overpeck called Subversion, Desperation and Captivity: Pre-film Advertising in American Film Exhibition Since 1977, he makes a note that an audience today cannot watch a film without advertising (Overpeck, 219).
So what does that say about our society? Americans are so used to advertising that they don’t even bat an eyelash at it. Originally, people like Irvin Ludwig of Buena Vista Distribution, a distributor for the Walt Disney Company, didn’t want any sort of advertising in front of their films. As quoted in the article, he was “disappointed at this new cluttering of the screen. You’ve got to consider that a patron has paid $3.50 for a seat, and then he or she gets three minutes of commercials before my picture”. But they had to adopt advertising in the theaters; with the prices climbing in every aspect of the industry, they had to keep up with the times and make money, so pre-film advertising was born (Overpeck, 223).
So what does that say about our society? Americans are so used to advertising that they don’t even bat an eyelash at it. Originally, people like Irvin Ludwig of Buena Vista Distribution, a distributor for the Walt Disney Company, didn’t want any sort of advertising in front of their films. As quoted in the article, he was “disappointed at this new cluttering of the screen. You’ve got to consider that a patron has paid $3.50 for a seat, and then he or she gets three minutes of commercials before my picture”. But they had to adopt advertising in the theaters; with the prices climbing in every aspect of the industry, they had to keep up with the times and make money, so pre-film advertising was born (Overpeck, 223).
Food was the perfect advertisement, and in the article Prevalence of Food and Beverage Brands in Movies from 1996-2005, the authors point out that “brands are frequently portrayed in movies, and most of the brand placements are for energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods or product lines” (Sutherland, 486). People see films, but the advertising doesn’t even stop in the lobby; it happens during the film, and people will want the food they see on screen. The industry has quickly latched onto brand advertising as its go-to for money, and what is interesting is the fact that people simply accept it, claiming it is just part of the movie and nothing more when it’s been more than manipulated to make it so that these brands make it into the film. Some don’t notice it at all, especially when watching films. They watch for stories, not for Coca-Cola placements.
If you're curious as to how much product placement goes on in movies, you need to look no further than what's below.