PRODUCT PLACEMENT IN

MOVIES: UNDERSTANDING AND

CRITICALLY REVIEWING

PRESENTED BY
MUKTA YADAV
BINITA KUMARI
 DEFINITION
Product placement or product
integration refers to the practice
of including a brand name,
product, package, signage or
other trademark merchandise
within a motion picture,
television or other media
vehicles for increasing the recall
of the brand and for the instant
recognition at the point of
purchase.

Volkswagen Beetle launched in India in

Dec 2009, CNBC –TV 18
 NATURE OF PRODUCT
PLACEMENT
• Implicit PPL: An implicit PPL is
one where the brand, the firm
or the product is present within
the program without being
formally mentioned. It plays a
passive, contextual role.
• In the implicit PPL the logo, the
brand name, or the name of the
firm appear without a clear
demonstration of product
benefits.
• Integrated Explicit PPL: a
PPL is explicit whenever
the brand or the firm is
formally mentioned within
the program; it plays an
active role. In this type of
PPL the attributes and
benefits of the product are
clearly demonstrated.
• Non Integrated explicit PPL: is one where the
brand or the firm is formally expressed but is
not integrated within the contents of the
program. The sponsor name may be presented
at the beginning, middle or end of the
program, or it may be part of the program title.
 MOVIES WITH RESPECTIVE PPL
MOVIE PRODUCT/BRAND TYPE OF PPL SITUATION

DDLJ (1995); clip Stroh’s beer Integrated Central character is

length 2.05 min explicit desperately seeking the
product, comic situation

Phir Bhi Dil Hai HYUNDAI Santro Integrated Star uses the product
Hindustani implicit showcasing the
(2000); clip (not mentioned maneuverability and speed
length 1.37 min verbally)

Taal (1998); clip Coca Cola Integrated Main stars share it, it’s shown
length 1.23 min implicit to be picked from tray of
different soft drinks
Rajneeti (2010); MP Tourism Non integrated Thanking govt. of MP and
entire movie explicit Noor-us-Sabah Palace hotel,
Jahan Numa Hotel, Oriental
College Bhopal
Source: ‘Effectiveness of product placements in Indian films and its effects on brand
memory and attitude with special reference to Hindi films’, Prof Tapan K Panda IIM
Kozhikode
• Russel 1998, classified PPL in three dimensions:

Visual (screen Appearance of brand

placement) on screen

Auditory (script Brand being

placement) mentioned in a
dialogue
Plot connection Degree to which brand
is integrated in the
plot of story
WHY FIRMS DO IT? • SENSORY ADDAPTATION TO
TRADITIONAL MEDIA
PLATFORMS
“Ads have become so pervasive
—they’re almost like
wallpaper. People tend to
block them out.”
• COST
The ever-increasing cost of
broadcast advertising.
• TECHNOLOGY
TiVo (service) and DVR , zipping
and zapping
• Product placement offers companies an enticing
alternative method of reaching the hearts, minds
and pocketbooks of the viewing public.
• “When people watch ads, they automatically doubt
their validity. But when people are following the
story line of a movie or TV show employing product
placement, they’re not ‘counter-arguing’ in the same
way they would if they were watching an ad.”
• Product placement proponents say that audiences
with an affinity toward certain characters may be
more apt to purchase products that these characters
use in movies and on TV.
IS IT EFFECTIVE? • EMOTIONAL
ATTACHMENT
• The iconic example of
Reese’s Pieces in “E.T.”
suggests it can be
highly effective. BUT….
• Product placement will
only work if the target
audience perceives it
as authentic, and it is
seamlessly integrated
into the medium.
• The high recall, recognition and positive
attitude scores suggest that brand managers
seriously look at product placements in
movies as a new vehicle for reaching to
customers.
 TRACING THE ROOTS OF PPL IN MOVIES
• The earliest reference of a brand
placement comes in the 1958
classic Chalti Kaa naam Gadi with
the brand Coca Cola. (source: Effectiveness
of Product Placements in Indian Films and Its Effects
on Brand Memory and Attitude with Special Reference
to Hindi Films, Prof Tapan K Panda, IIM Kozhikode)

• 1982, Steven Spielberg’s “E.T. The

Extra-Terrestrial” made sales
executives at Hershey Foods Corp.
jump with joy while Mars, Inc. want
to jump off a bridge.
 RESEARCH WORK DONE ON PPL
• Previous research also suggests the effects of
product placements on consumers can
influence brand recognition, recall and attitudes
(Babin and Carder 1996; Brennan, Dubas and
babin 1999, Karrh, Frith and Callison 2001;
Gibson and Maurer 2000; Gould, Gupta and
Grabner-Krauter 2000, Gupta and Lord 1998).
Source: Babin, Laurie, A and Sheri Thomson Cader, Viewer’s Recognition of Brands Placed within
aFilm, International Journal of Advertising, 15, 140-151,1996
Karrh, James A, Katherine Toland Firth and Coy Caliison. Audience Attitudes Towards Brand
( product) Placement: Singapore and United States, International Journal of Advertising, 20,3-
24,2001
• Increase in product placements and
institutionalisation of the industry indicate
that advertisers are using the technique to
sway consumer’s brand attitudes (Avery and
Ferraro,2000). The type of placements should
look natural to the narration as consumption
symbols are often used to enrich the plot,
theme and characters of popular culture texts
(Hirschman 1998; Holbrook and Grayson
1986).
Source: Avery Rosemary J and Rosellina Ferraro, Verisimilitude or
Advertising? Brand Appearances on Prime Time Television, Journal of
Consumer Affairs, 34(2),217-2444, 2000
The high level of reliance on brand recognition and recall
measure presumes that the effects for memory are
similar to the effects of attitude. The absence of
correlation between memory and attitude measures are
found in persuasion literature (Petty, Cacioppo and
Schumann 1983) that challenges this assumption and
suggest that memory and attitude measures are not
always liner. Since recall is a poor predictor of persuasion,
research on product placements should investigate both
memory and attitude effects (Mackie and Asuncion
1990).
Source: Petty, Richard E, John T Cacioppo and David Schumann, Central and
Peripheral Routes to Advertising Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of
Involvement, Journal of Consumer Research, 10, 135-146, 1983
Mackie, Diane E and Arlene G Asunction, On Line and Memory based
Modifications of Attitudes: Determinants of Message Recall-Attitude Change
Correspondence, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 5-16, 1990
 “Et Tu, Brute?”
• Results of a series of experiments show that a
product placement has the potential to be a
double-edged sword that could generate
consumer backlash. Compared to
advertisements, placements increase memory
for brand and claims, but result in lower trust
in brand and in the medium, specifically when
the consumer discerns sponsor’s commercial
intent.
Source: “Et Tu, Brute?”: A Case for Consumer Backlash against
Perceived Product Placements
Namita BHATNAGAR* Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba
 HARMS OF PPL
• If consumers are indeed
aware of the commercial
nature of placements,
then serious implications
arise for the level of
credence that is put in the
brand, the degree of trust
that is placed in the
medium and feelings of
betrayal as well.
 ATTITUDES TOWARDS PLACED
BRANDS
• Consumer awareness of persuasive intent -
According to the Persuasion Knowledge
Model (Friestad and Wright 1994), individuals
develop beliefs about how, why, and when
marketers attempt to influence them.
• Trust in brand and trust in media - consumer
reacts skeptically in order to cope with
persuasion attempts that are noticed.
 FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS
• PPL is a strong tool in the hands of the
marketer if used efficiently and effectively
• Incorporating the product/brand into the
movie making it an integral part of the movie
THANK YOU