Autoblog

Click above for high-res pics of the 2009 Hyundai Genesis V6

Product placement inundates television imagery, from the blatantly branded soda tumblers on American Idol to more subtle appearances like what car Jack Bauer drivers. Looking to boost the profile of its new Genesis top-level sedan, Hyundai has secured the services of Davie Brown Entertainment, responsible for the masterful remake-a-palooza of the MINI in The Italian Job. Hyundais have been in film and television before, but the automaker is looking for more visible roles to help quietly promote its entry into Lexus territory. Pay-for-play deals will likely see the Genesis in movies where you'd see a 7 series BMW, Mercedes S-Class or a Lexus LS. Unfortunately, films for fall release that would coincide with the launch of the car have long wrapped production, so television is seen as the way to get a quick fix for Hyundai. Davie Brown has already had the car at several sets where it's been well received. When your favorite shows return after their summer hiatus, keep your eyes peeled for the Genesis. ER had a blatant endorsement of the Chrysler 300 when it first bowed, culminating in a street race and a dunk in the water, so we wonder what they could do with the Genesis?



[Source: Brandweek]

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.

Ford's been working with studios to get its product featured in films for years, one of the first being the original Batmobile. But the automaker has now teamed with Our Stories Films to target minorities with the production company's family-themed movies.

Under the agreement, Ford will be able to examine scripts for product placement opportunities, and will even get to make script-change suggestions. Ford will also integrate promotion of the films into its Web sites, fordurban.com and lincolnlounge.com.

Our Stories Films was created by BET founder Robert Johnson and producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein. According to IMDB, the company's first film is the current box office blockbuster (watch the sarcarsm, it's dripping) "Who's Your Caddy?" and features Ford's Range Rover co-starring with Big Boi and Andy Milonakis.

"We are all grappling with our numbers in this audience," said Marc Perry, multicultural marketing manager at Ford/Lincoln, in a Brandweek article. "We know that we can do better than what we are doing and this opportunity allows us to go after a targeted audience. It's African-Americans in urban centers. This arrangement helps by allowing us to cast both characters and vehicles, and with our imaging onscreen." Sigh... kind of sucks the whole artistic angle right out of filmmaking.

[Source: Brandweek, IMDB]

Each new James Bond film, in addition to being an event in and of itself, is a massive advertisement for every single branded item seen on the silver screen. Whether it's 007's Smirnoff vodka, Walther pistol, or Aston Martin automobile, each item's appearance on screen is indeed a Very Big Deal for the company behind it. And so, Ford is crowing about its involvement in Casino Royale in an article on its website (read it after the jump). The film represents the first time the general populace will see the new European-market Ford Mondeo and Aston Martin's DBS (shown), which will spawn a production model as well.

Ford's desire to promote its involvement is to be expected. After all, firms pay big bucks to get placed in high-profile films. A full read of the article, however, reveals a bit of gloating as FoMoCo has some fun with the fact that it, and not Toyota, is the supplier of James Bond's car. While we thank God that we weren't subjected to the sight of James Bond driving a Camry (a clear sign of the apocalypse), the reality is that Toyota offered up something significantly more upmarket. Apparently, they approached the filmmakers with enough dough to fill the bed of a Tundra and proposed having their upcoming supercar (presumably the production version of the LF-A concept) be Bond's ride of choice.

There's more after the jump, so read on!

[Source: Ford via Inside Line]

Lotus announced today that it has hired a new ad agency to help it along with a renewed push into the North American market. Burbank-based e2amp, inc. will be responsible for rejuvenating the British sportscar company's image in the US and Canada through advertising, product placement and promotional events.

e2amp doesn't appear to have much experience with carmakers - its client roster includes such entertainment companies as JVC, Sony, Buena Vista and Universal. And what could be more entertaining than the tight handling and eminent chuckability of the Lotus Elise and Exige?

Arguably the most interesting part of e2amp's mandate from Lotus is the product placement. After James Bond's return to Aston Martins, could we see a Lotus comeback in the next 007 film?

Related posts:

• Business-class touring: Lotus Europa reviewed
• Lotus' ultimate track day car "coming soon
• Lotus Esprit begins to take shape
  

[Source: The Auto Channel via Jalopnik]

Pontiac is breaking new ground with product placement next month with "Rush City," a DC Comics production heavily funded by General Motors in an attempt to hock its Pontiac brand to men in their 20s and 30s. The six-issue series will debut on July 19.

The Pontiac Solstice a chick car? Not when a New York action hero tricks out his GXP with guns and other superhero gear. "Rush City" is about an ordinary guy -- good job as a firefighter, fantastic fiancee with a daughter who's crazy about her soon-to-be stepdad, and a Pontiac Solstice GXP. Then he loses it all, except the car of course. After losing his job, his fiancee and her daughter die in a fire. It's so traumatic for him that he has nothing else to do but become a superhero.

General Motors isn't the only one going after comic book product placement -- DaimlerChrysler and Nike are going there too. 

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Daniel Craig, the next James Bond, has already endured his fair share of controversy, and now the poor guy will have to while away the opening sequence in Casino Royale in a Fiat W190 bulldozer. This word, after we we reported last month that he'll also be driving a Ford Mondeo in the film.

But don't shed a tear for Daniel Craig. We're quite sure that he'll still get to shack up with some ridiculously hot beauty in an exotic locale, bide his time with lots of too-cool spy gear, and save the world in his free time. Oh, and we're quite sure all the product placement in the film will result in a sizeable paycheck for the inconvenience of it all. Besides, 007 can always ditch the ditch-digger (and the Blue Oval rep-mobile) and drive off into the sunset in the Aston Martin he's also scheduled to drive. Life is tough, eh, Craig?

Casino Royale is slated for a November release.

[Source: Reuters via CNN; Fiat]

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]