Product placement war heating up
Product placement is
a time-honored trend. We're quite sure that Ford is pining for a Bullitt remake, for example, but the
war seems to be heating up.
Exhibit A is Mission Impossible:III, where the Detroit News reports that General Motors and Ford had it out over whether Tom Cruise's spymobile would emerge from a plant belonging to the Blue Oval or the General. Ford ultimately won the battle with the Land Rover LR3, but it wasn't why you'd think. Tom Cruise himself was the one calling the shots, and after a meeting with Bill Ford, evidently he found a kindred spirit... and a common interest in Land Rovers.
On TV, product placement has become huge, from the Chevy Tahoe on The Apprentice to the Mercury Milan finding its way onto the set of The Real World. As TiVo continues to make traditional commercial advertising less value, expect this war to start blazing.
[Source: The Detroit News, photo credit Steven Vaughn]
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Alex 5:43PM (4/25/2006)
Hey, I would much perfer product placment vs real ads, just as long as they are not too intrusive.
Reply
SKluck 6:41PM (4/25/2006)
It kind of pisses me off seeing Jack Bauer drive around a Toyota in 24. Ford had the main cars on 24 for every season, but looks like Toyota outbid them this year.
I find it pretty hilarious Bill Ford had to actually convince Tom Cruise in person to drive a Ford. You would think he had better things to do.
Reply
Amir Sharifi 6:43PM (4/25/2006)
I bet you he made a small deal with Tom Cruise by handing him a Land Rover LR3...
Reply
tcc3 8:55PM (4/25/2006)
I just hope it wont be an obvious Ford fest like MI2 was with VW. I love VW, but that level of product placement is rediculous and suspends disbelief. The movie becomes "spot the car advert" when they do that. Fords placement in the last Bond movie comes to mind as well.
Reply
Lithous 11:02PM (4/25/2006)
I noticed a couple... H2 in CSI: Miami and GMC Yukon in CSI (Vegas).
Reply
Mike 11:28PM (4/25/2006)
Don't forget the Envoy XUV in CSI New York!
Reply
Zacg 3:12AM (4/26/2006)
Is it just me or does Tom look way to small in that picture? look how big the door is compared to his body!
Reply
Howard Kerr 5:16AM (4/26/2006)
TV shows and movies are beginning to look too much like car ads with incidental plotlines stuck in them so you won't switch the channel. It's getting so that you can almost identify the show by the vehicle you see the "good guys driving in the chase scenes. If it's a DCX product...must be NCIS. Luckily, shows on the soon to expire WB feature cars and trucks that real people might own.
Reply
Doogs 8:17AM (4/26/2006)
Think its bad now...just wait until "Transformers" next summer.
Reply
John 11:57AM (4/26/2006)
I wonder if Bill Ford promised to convert to Scientology?
Reply
JSK 12:01PM (4/26/2006)
> Tom Cruise himself was the one calling the shots, and after
> a meeting with Bill Ford, evidently he found a kindred
> spirit...
Is this code for "Bill Ford had to agree to become a Scientologist"? :-P
Reply
T McMillan 9:03PM (4/26/2006)
I've noticed a few Lincoln Navigators in the trailers
Reply
Fred Kesler 10:09PM (4/26/2006)
Tom is not a very Big guy in size. I have met and talked with him on occasion and he is very focused and affable to all, but not a tall or large guy.
He likes quality vehicles and I have to hand it to him for choosing a Land Rover and an LR3 to boot!
The LR3 is a large and tall vehicle and thus the proportions seem a bit off naturally.
BTW he didn't ask me to convert to Scientology, he was just a very nice guy.
Reply