A Comparison of Product Placements in Movies and Television ...

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150 HANDBOOK OF PRODUCT PLACEMENT IN THE MASS MEDIA gauge the size of the viewership. With movies, the placement decision would have to be made on the basis of forecast(s) of the success of the movie. Even if the movie were subsequently aired on television, brand placements are unlikely to be developed and inserted into the movie at that point due to costs and time. Many studies have noted that the impact of a placement is influenced by the position or scene in the program or movie (e.g., DeLorme and Reid, 1999; Russell, 2002; Ong and Meri, 1994). A television series may earn a loyal audience following where there would be more opportunity to build personalities of the characters in the series, and to design a script or scene to fit the brand placement in a very appropriate setting. Choices of TV Program Formats for Placements TV programs can be classified into situation comedy, documentary, drama series, feature magazine (e.g., NBC’s Dateline; ABC’s 20/20, etc.), game-show, sports, made-for-TV movie, news program, and other types (Avery and Ferraro, 2000). Because of the wide choice of formats, brand placements in a TV program enjoy greater flexibilities than those in a movie. Due to restrictions on violence, nudity, and language (profanity) in program content offered by major US networks (i.e., ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX), finding appropriate brand placements may also be less challenging here than in movies. From the author/researcher’s experience, scouring for potential brand starring roles to recommend to an advertising agency handling a major studio’s account, the prospect was greatly curtailed by the presence of violence and by the place/setting (e.g., mid-1800s, in the City of Birmingham) evident in the movie script. The brand in mind (to be potentially placed) may not have existed at that time, or may no longer be around today. TV programs, particularly situational comedies, tend to have more contemporary settings. Hence, the availability of greater choices and flexibilities in TV program placements may lead to more natural or appropriate placements. However, the contemporary settings of many TV series could also increase the pressure on show producers to feature real brands in program scenes even if these would not be “paying” brands. DeLorme and Reid (1999) found that consumers felt irritated and insulted by generic product props. These props were judged to interfere with movie realism and to interrupt the movie viewing experience. Hence, the use of generic props and fictitious brands would not be ideal if there were no suitors for the brand role.
Case Studies of Product Placement 151 Measuring Effectiveness of Product Placements Research in the early 1990s tended to measure effectiveness of product placements by aided and unaided recalls of brands mentioned or shown in the movie (Gupta and Lord, 1998). Since then, more researchers have opted for attitudinal measures and purchase intentions. For example, Gould, Gupta, and Grabner-Krauter (2000) compared consumer attitudes across their three-country samples on dimensions such as attitude toward product placement in general, perceived realism (e.g., Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree for a statement “Placement of brand name products adds to the realism of movies”), attitude toward restricting product placements, and attitude toward television advertising in general. Purchase behavior, in their study, was assessed via a Likertscale item “I buy brands I see movie stars using or holding in movies.” One might argue that the above attitudinal items would not be good correlates of purchase intentions and brand choice since product placements are subtle and consumers’ brand decisions are influenced by a host of other marketing factors such as a brand’s unique selling proposition (USP) and specific qualities. However, DeLorme and Reid (1999) noted that moviegoers are active interpreters, not passive receptors of encountered brands in movies. Subtle cues via placements are not likely to go unnoticed by the audience. The researchers further argued that because attitudes toward brands develop over time, brand placement can strengthen brand name recognition and positioning, and thus contribute towards long-term influence. Brand placement can create associations that are important in building a brand’s image, which in turn, could be a part of the grand marketing plan. Psychographic and demographic factors may significantly impact the effectiveness of product placements and, hence, their inclusion in product placement research would be prudent. In a study of moviegoers’ experiences and interpretations of brands in films, DeLorme and Reid (1999) found older moviegoers to be receptive to “old brands” in the movie and related nostalgia associations. To the younger moviegoers in the study, brands in movies symbolized belonging and security. Gould, Gupta, and Grabner-Krauter (2000) employed psychographic measures such as the total number of movies rented or watched in theaters in a typical month when studying product placement effects. However, they did not find the total number of movies rented/watched to be significant on purchase behavior. In the context of product placements in TV programs, it may be worthwhile to explore attributes such as whether research participants typically watch television alone or with another
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