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K-Funk

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 24, 2007
110
25
Relative to Apple's market share, it is unbelievable how often the characters in movies and TV shows use Macs, as opposed to PCs. Does Apple pay lots of money to the studios as part of its advertising budget, or do producers just like Macs?
 

mwchris

macrumors regular
Apr 12, 2008
155
4
Kentucky
Whats available



While companies generally pay to have their product advertised in a movie/show/etc. Sometimes I am sure you have noticed that it is an apple product, but the logo is covered up. (I see this often)

I think most of the time if no particular brand has chosen to sponsor a show or whatnot then they just use what is available, and in many cases, or so it seems, apple products are what is on hand and in use by the production company. Therefore they get used in a scene.
 

PlaceofDis

macrumors Core
Jan 6, 2004
19,241
6
Relative to Apple's market share, it is unbelievable how often the characters in movies and TV shows use Macs, as opposed to PCs. Does Apple pay lots of money to the studios as part of its advertising budget, or do producers just like Macs?

i don't know if its Apple paying for the placement, or if its just what is on hand, or if its a style choice since they are often seen as 'cleaner' setups. /shrug

yes I've always wondered if companies payed money to have their products in movies/tv shows.

they do, its called product placement. don't know how often apple uses this though.

While companies generally pay to have their product advertised in a movie/show/etc. Sometimes I am sure you have noticed that it is an apple product, but the logo is covered up. (I see this often)

I think most of the time if no particular brand has chosen to sponsor a show or whatnot then they just use what is available, and in many cases, or so it seems, apple products are what is on hand and in use by the production company. Therefore they get used in a scene.

yes some shows do this because they want the marketing dollars. some don't care.
 

iMpathetic

macrumors 68030
Oct 7, 2007
2,547
4
IMBY
Also, many, if not most, people in video use Macs, so they may lend their own personal machines to the shoot.

Macs are also more "stylish" to the general public. On some TV shows, they paint over the Apple logo and use them.
 

jemeinc

macrumors 6502a
Feb 14, 2004
771
0
South Jersey
if you can see the logo, they pay.. Apple's been way ahead of the competition with this type of advertising for years now- but every company is starting to see the value of this now.. No-one watches commercials anymore (other than the Super Bowl and select events), so it makes a ton of sense to devote a portion of your advertising budget to product placement..
 

MisterMe

macrumors G4
Jul 17, 2002
10,709
69
USA
... so they may lend their own personal machines to the shoot.

...
Fox News uses Macs on its working news set. Clearly some entertainment shows have Macs as product placements. In the case of free placement, Macs are used because the people doing the show like them.

However, the notion that the writers would lend their computers to the set designer to be used as props is absurd. The computer is a tool of the writer's trade. He or she can't stop working while the cinematographer is filming a show. In fact, they have to do rewrites while the show is being filmed.
 

macfan881

macrumors 68020
Feb 22, 2006
2,345
0
also alot of people in the film industry use macs to i know quite a few top shows use Final Cut pro etc like 24 and i belive one if not all 3 of the xmen movies use it as well.
 

iMpathetic

macrumors 68030
Oct 7, 2007
2,547
4
IMBY
Fox News uses Macs on its working news set. Clearly some entertainment shows have Macs as product placements. In the case of free placement, Macs are used because the people doing the show like them.

However, the notion that the writers would lend their computers to the set designer to be used as props is absurd. The computer is a tool of the writer's trade. He or she can't stop working while the cinematographer is filming a show. In fact, they have to do rewrites while the show is being filmed.

Pardon my possible stupidity, but couldn't they use it for like a minute and a half?
 

MisterMe

macrumors G4
Jul 17, 2002
10,709
69
USA
Pardon my possible stupidity, but couldn't they use it for like a minute and a half?
Are you serious? Your "minute and a half" may require multiple takes done over several hours, days, months, or even years. There is the issue of continuity, which means that every prop in a scene should look exactly the same today as it does in a retake two months from today.
 

kabunaru

Guest
Jan 28, 2008
3,226
5
Relative to Apple's market share, it is unbelievable how often the characters in movies and TV shows use Macs, as opposed to PCs. Does Apple pay lots of money to the studios as part of its advertising budget, or do producers just like Macs?

I guess Apple does pay the studies and in my opinion, in a movie/tv show, using a Mac looks better than a PC. Mac is more elegant than a PC in my opinion. So they use Macs to make show/movie "look better". That's just my opinion... :)
 

mattrobs

macrumors member
Jun 10, 2008
75
0
It's also used to convey class. The rich guys have the Macs; the guy working in the basement has the Dell.
 
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