We were well aware of Volkswagen's placement in The Bourne Ultimatum thanks to press releases out of Wolfsburg that prepared us for an epic car chase involving a Touareg 2. When an automaker brags about its product placement, we usually start worrying that the movie will be overrun with subliminal adverts. For instance, before Michael Bay went shopping for actors at General Motors, there was the all-GM highway scene in Matrix Reloaded. The heavy-handedness of such product placement that GM seems to favor can instantly take a moviegoer out of the moment, so we were justifiably nervous to see the VW Touareg 2 make its big screen debut.
I've just returned from seeing The Bourne Ultimatum and can report that Volkswagen's product placement was very understated and tastefully done. The climactic car chase involving the Touareg 2 was incredible to watch (and sounded even better), but the fact you're watching a VW is hardly noticed since a fender bender early on completely rips off the Touareg's grille, taking the VW emblem with it. Likewise, Jason Bourne's world isn't populated entirely by late model VW, Audi and Lamborgini vehicles. A last-gen Lincoln Navigator figures prominently, as does a Chevy Impala cop car and many older Chrysler 300Ms.
There were two other vehicles in the movie that VW no doubt paid to have placed. One is a European spec Golf GT Sport briefly driven by Julia Stiles' character, and the other a previous-gen Audi A6. Both are onscreen for a short time only, and the fact the A6 is not the current generation model makes its placement even less noticeable.
While most marketers can't argue with the effectiveness of GM's overwhelming product placement in Transformers, regardless of how it negatively affected the viewing experience, we felt VW deserved an extra mention for its welcomed restraint in The Bourne Ultimatum.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
why not the LS2LS7? @ Aug 12th 2007 12:46PM
I have to agree VW are fantastic at product placement. They've managed to place the VW Touareg 2 in two spots on the front page of autoblog.
Incredibly subtle.
EM @ Aug 12th 2007 12:51PM
Pretty sure VW didn't buy John Neff and Dan Roth out. Call me crazy, but I doubt it.
John Neff @ Aug 12th 2007 2:58PM
Do you remember how many posts we did on Transformers and GM's involvement just because we were so excited to see that movie? We did one other post on VW's involvement in the Bourne movie, and after seeing it, I felt the least VW was owed is another mention, because the product placement was done the way we like it. Hopefully other auto execs and marketers read this and perhaps get the idea that seeing movie worlds in which only GM car and trucks are built and sold is stupid.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Aug 12th 2007 4:59PM
Actually, I don't even have to have a good memory to realize this. The related headlines above have a link to an autoblog article of Ford partnering with a company for film product placement.
In general though, it's a bit weird to see two articles on VW's product placement in the same movie almost back-to-back.
Transformers is the exception to the rule, but then again, it's a movie about the vehicles itself. They are characters in the movie and have lines. The vehicles in these movies are just props. So doing stories on the cars in Transformers is akin to doing a story on Shia LaBeouf, while doing stories on the cars in Bourne Supremacy is like doing stories about stuntmen.
You see stories about stuntmen, but you see a lot more stories about the stars of the show. Which is why seeing two back to back in one publication is a bit weird. I guess it wouldn't be so odd in a stuntmen-oriented publication though...
Petey @ Aug 12th 2007 12:59PM
The worst implementation of an auto-product placement in a movie was Twister... basically, every vehicle in that movie was from Chrysler. And, the movie sucked.
Rambo @ Aug 12th 2007 7:35PM
Twister was a huge hit both for the studio and Dodge! Everybody remembers the Ram from that movie. No one will remember the 'facelifted' Toe-rag in another bad Matt Damon movie.
VW can't even build a decent web site, they suck!
Mike @ Aug 12th 2007 1:05PM
I am definately NOT a fan of VW. I think they're way overrated in both motorsports potential and quality.
I do, however, appreciate their subtle approach to product placement in this movie. I saw their website where they have the small video game and stunt stuff but I was happy to see they didn't wreck the movie by having nothing but their product in it.
Transformers and Matrix reloaded, however, were nearly ruined for me for no other reason than GM's product placement. We all know Bumblebee was a bug, not a Camaro. While we're on the subject, can we please stop seeing the stupid Camaro already. From the Forza Motorsports Challenge (on Speed) to this and others, we've seen enough of the concept, just release the stupid thing already.
Will @ Aug 12th 2007 1:25PM
See this, GM? Words of admiration and respect for a subtle approach to advertising! Very much the opposite of the half-dozen pages of GM ads in my current issue of C&D, R&T, and Motor Trend. Popular Mechanics is twice the normal thickness thanks to GM!
Inundating the masses with GM advertising, whether it be pictures, product placement in movies, or television advertising, is not going to earn respect from this guy. Nor will it make me think of buying your cars.
Bravo, VW Motor Group. Keep up the good work!
Robert @ Aug 12th 2007 1:53PM
Dude, there were also at least 3 or 4 scenes with an Audi A8. These were driven by the opposing agents chasing bourne as they arrived at the scene.
Gotta love the A8.
TyTy @ Aug 12th 2007 2:01PM
It was a great movie and the car chases we awesome. Oh and how could I forget about the fight scenes!
beanspants @ Aug 12th 2007 2:14PM
i said it in the last VW Borne thread and I'll say it again:
it's not very good product placement when every VW in the movie gets owned by a backwards-driving chevy impala cop car.
Jaymez @ Aug 12th 2007 2:25PM
GM's product placement in Transformers was minimal at best. The only vehicle to get any considerable screen time was Bumble Bee. The others were usually seen in robot form and were not easily identifiable. FoMoCo and Chrysler were well represented in the chase scenes.
AlexP @ Aug 12th 2007 10:13PM
Not to mention PORSCHE.
aeternus @ Aug 12th 2007 10:56PM
Are you smoking crack? Seriously? Or are you just legally blind?
Mal Fuller @ Aug 12th 2007 2:27PM
VW's subtle product placement in this movie is just a reflection of their limited presence on US roads. Any more of them would have made the car scenes less credible.
Solo Racer @ Aug 12th 2007 2:53PM
Let me get this straight, the Wachowski brothers let GM direct the chase scene? Or did they get more money from GM for making the chase scene more "brand friendly?" It's still their movie, so if GM was too obviously there, it's the moviemaker's fault.
PakieMak @ Aug 12th 2007 4:02PM
Product placement rules. I only hope TV programs, sports (if they can) and mini-series will take this approach. Less, or no commercials and we continue enjoying our programs... say... 24.
But we would need at least 1 or 2 commercials during a sports event so we can do our "duty" and refill the coolers.
rjlawrenc @ Aug 12th 2007 5:57PM
You obviously must be too young to remember all of the old Quinn Martin productions of the 1970s - FBI, CANNON, BARNABY JONES... EVERYONE drove a Ford product of some kind. Some of the SPELLING GOLDBERG productions like CHARLIE'S ANGELS and STARSKY & HUTCH had close to zero other brands displayed on screen.
Cameron @ Aug 12th 2007 5:03PM
Best VAG placement was the Audi S8 in Ronin. 'Nuff said. Although I'm not sure if it was actual placement or just the choice of the writers/director.
testa di cazzo @ Aug 12th 2007 6:12PM
Agreed. but it was placement. it was done to unveil the brand-new S8 which was just being brought into production... one of the best car-chases ever in cinema...