Journal #2 Product Placement Not Always Taking Over

After tapping into the world of advertising, it's nearly impossible for me to watch TV without having something to say about the ads during commercial breaks. Likewise, as I sit with my boyfriend quietly watching a show or a movie a little squeal goes off in my head as I triumphantly notice the subtle product placement that just appeared on the screen. I suddenly forget about the show as my mind trails off, "I wonder if he noticed the product too," "I wonder who approached who to get that placement spot", "I wonder if they got their brand noticed for free".

There is also those times when a clip seems like it NEEDS a product placement and doesn't have one. Like when someone's at a bar and all the bottles are meant to portray some obvious brand name but the labels are not on the bottles. Would it have killed the producers to use real bottles of booze for their show even if the company wasn't willing to pay for the placement?

An article from Jared Paladecki aka 'Sam' from Supernatural said in an interview that the actors and producers don't want to take away from the story or characters and Supernatural will never sell out.1 They have even turned down companies like Coca-Cola.

But alas, every show swings one way or another and I can remember a few times when my advertising eye has caught product placement in the show. Rufus Turner's favorite drink is Johnnie Walker Blue Label. Dean was instructed by Bobby to bring him a bottle when he first meets him in season three, and when Rufus dies in season seven, the boys pour a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue on his grave.

Jared's comment has some back bone too it, other than the Johnnie Walker brand, I can only think of one or two other known products I've seen in the show. Sam and Dean are so distinguished with an individual old school style and not many brands would fit into the show, however, after hearing Jared's comment, implementing the Johnnie Walker brand into a few episodes seems like a natural fit and rings well with who Rufus was as a character.

When a product can fit as naturally as it does in Supernatural, advertisers are doing it right. Unfortunately there are many times when a product is so forced and in your face that its almost a turn off and can have a negative effect on a brand. This Josie and The Pussycats TRAILER has product placement out the Wazooo, imagine what the movie is like. On The Voice, even Christina Aguilera's water is in a Starbucks cup. REALLY?  We get it, stars drink Starbucks, give it a rest. 

1 Jeffrey, Morgan. "Padalecki: 'Supernatural Won't Sell Out'" Digital Spy. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. <http://www.digitalspy.ca/ustv/s6/supernatural/news/a271628/padalecki-supernatural-wont-sell-out.html>.

Journal #1 Sex Sells!

Miley Cyrus’ music video We Can’t Stop is filled with sexual imagery and a girl who just discovered her body and tongue and is not afraid to flaunt them – a hundred times over.  Miley’s video aired online June 19, 2013 and today has just shy of 204 million hits, with 955,805 likes and 867,062 thumbs down. Some people hate some people love, but EVERYONE has seen this video. Miley may be over the top but she knows that for people to stop and look you need to get naked, and be sexy (she might need to work on that part). All in all, Sex drives our culture. Sex Sells.

Humans by nature are sexually driven. Advertising latches on to that. Axe does a good job of using a sexual theme or idea and making it funny to attract users. Calvin Klein ads are banned all the time for exploiting children and using over sexualized content. Advertising has the power to influence one of our greatest instincts but is also responsible for the morality and ethics in our culture in shaping what is socially acceptable. If it’s acceptable in an advertisement it’s acceptable in society. Once an ad is banned, like Calvin Klein, it can be even worse for society, because the ad ends up getting even more exposure because people want to know why it’s banned and look it up on YouTube. Calvin Klein makes society feel like teens having sex is acceptable which could have a negative impact on teens in high school struggling with peer pressure and society.

Also ads like that of Calvin Klein which spark so much media attention, doesn't really say anything about the sales of clothing. An ad with a lot of media exposure (for a negative reason) may not generate sales as expected. Would you see an ad with a child’s underwear stuffed and think “my kids gotta have that”?

Some ads however, use sex in a way that society can recognize and accept. Companies like this respect that there are boundaries as far as sex is concerned and that our society must have some standards in protecting the innocence of youth and corruption of a sexually driven society. 

Intro

Advertising rules and regulations are set to standardize what is socially acceptable to the general public. Although these individual rules at times can seem unjust, at some point in time, people took advantage of a silent code of ethics when engaging the public, and made these rules and regulations completely necessary. My journal tackles some of the most controversial aspects regarding advertising to the public like sex, drugs, alcohol and tobacco while also leaving some space for product placement and advertising past vs. present. As a creative thinker, my journals focus on my opinion and interpretation of the laws from the ASC code and how it effects advertisements on a creative level. In short, many of my journals reflect on the lack of creativity due to overbearing strict laws by the Advertising Standards Council. In a world where we are taught to think outside of the box, creativity and imagination are extremely important and must never be forgotten.