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Branding website Brandchannel recently revealed the winners of the Brandcameo 2015 Product Placement Awards, which names the movies and brands with the most proliferation within Hollywood films over the past year. For the first time since 2011, Apple nabbed the 2014 Award for Overall Product Placement, appearing in 9 of the 35 films that topped the U.S. box office last year.

Brandchannel mentions the most influential Apple moments in films last year, perhaps the most popular of which is an extended scene in Marvel's blockbuster Captain America: The Winter Soldier, in which two of its protagonists use a MacBook Pro inside an Apple Store to hack into secretive S.H.I.E.L.D. data.

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A quick tangential reference to an iPod Shuffle in The Lego Movie also helped Apple reign over previous winners like Budweiser (2013) and Mercedes-Benz (2012), and just barely beat out the likes of Coca-Cola and Sony for the award.
Apple bested both Coca-Cola and Sony by a single appearance, for which Apple can thank "The Lego Movie." The Apple logo doesn't appear in the film but Lord Business does talk about his iPod Shuffle. Recent winners Budweiser (2013) and Mercedes-Benz (2012) showed up in a distant five and six times respectively.

Other appearances include in "Ride Along," "The Other Woman," "Neighbors," "The Fault in Our Stars," "Think Like a Man Too," "Gone Girl" and "Ouija."
The website mentions that while Apple's return to product placement dominance in 2014, appearing in just over 25 percent of the top box office films, is a step up from the last few years, the company's brand appearances still remain well below its peak performance years. The brand saw the most proliferation in its "golden age" of 2009, appearing in nearly 50 percent of all number 1 movies that year. It dropped to 42.5 percent in 2011 and to just 15 percent in 2013.

The newly Apple-owned brand Beats, unfortunately, won the 2014 Award for Worst Product Placement. The company's popular Bluetooth speaker, the Beats Pill, popped up in a scene in the critically-panned Transformers: Age of Extinction, wherein Stanley Tucci creates a Pill using his mind and the fictional "Transformium" material that pushes much of the film's plot into motion.

Article Link: Apple Tops Movie Product Placement Rankings for the First Time Since 2011
 

Nimrad

macrumors 6502
Jul 28, 2010
398
1,437
As long as it doesn't get as weird as Microsofts product placement in House of Cards season 3. The guy went "let me make that easier for you" and walks over to the TV and drags the picture out of the surface on to the TV. And the dialogue pauses when he's doing it. I got embarrassed watching it.
 

Klae17

macrumors 65816
Jul 15, 2011
1,225
1,573
Samsung says they have TVs and Microwaves in movies too, you know!
 

SpiderDude

macrumors regular
Jan 29, 2008
224
320
Portugal, Europe
Nostalgy

I still remember, more than 10 years ago, seeing a Mac on screen and thinking "Ooh. A Mac" and feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside.
Back when Apple was the underdog. :rolleyes:

Please bear in mind that I'm not from the states before (if) replying.
 

Sodner

macrumors 68020
Jan 12, 2011
2,112
78
Pittsburgh, PA
Slightly off topic from movies but did you see the latest episode of Modern Family? Its a 30 minute Apple commercial. Well for anyone who knows anything about Apple that is. They probably don't show the glowing logo once be the entire show is an Apple laptop and iPhone FaceTime. Pretty cool.
 

2499723

Cancelled
Dec 10, 2009
812
412
So, we're now giving awards to companies who can spend the most on product placement? Ugh. I'm a product of its grip, but goodness capitalism is depressing sometimes.
 

AngerDanger

Graphics
Staff member
Dec 9, 2008
5,452
29,001
So, we're now giving awards to companies who can spend the most on product placement? Ugh. I'm a product of its grip, but goodness capitalism is depressing sometimes.

Perhaps capitalism will pay to have you included in an upcoming film! You can be a minor, depressed, yet self-aware character that complements the protagonist's personality when they're doubting themselves most.
 

peterh988

macrumors 6502a
Jun 5, 2011
625
1,028
Presumably Apple don't supply gear to companies who deliberately blank out the Apple logo, as that would defeat the purpose?

I'm thinking of the current series of 'The Mentalist', where the iMacs have a strip of gaffer tape applied to the length of the area below the monitor. (Badly applied gaffer tape too, you could see where a wrinkle had just been smoothed down in one scene)
 
I have started to blank out the product placement in movies and TV. It's old hat by now.

I believe it's more meant to be subliminal than anything else. If you see more people using iPhones, drinking cokes, driving mercedes, etc (wether in real life or in movies), then you tend to associate that with the norm/popularity/good.

I think product placement is the best way to do advertisement, so long as it isn't too blatant and/or affect the story.
 

rctlr

macrumors 6502a
May 9, 2012
738
175
There used to be this thing in movies where the good guys used Macs, and the bad guys used Windows.

I think those days are gone now.
 

SgtPepper12

macrumors 6502a
Feb 1, 2011
697
673
Germany
There's product placement that's subtle and okay (like literally just the product being there, without naming it or even mentioning it) and product placement that's intrusive and annoying. A notable example for latter is Microsoft's kind of product placements. I don't know if I'm the only one, but whenever Bing, the Surface, Skype or the Xbox shows up, it feels like a smack in the face. Completely destroys every kind of suspense of disbelief that might have built up.
 

2499723

Cancelled
Dec 10, 2009
812
412
Perhaps capitalism will pay to have you included in an upcoming film! You can be a minor, depressed, yet self-aware character that complements the protagonist's personality when they're doubting themselves most.

I'd probably say 'yes' to it. :(
 

KdParker

macrumors 601
Oct 1, 2010
4,793
998
Everywhere
I believe it's more meant to be subliminal than anything else. If you see more people using iPhones, drinking cokes, driving mercedes, etc (wether in real life or in movies), then you tend to associate that with the norm/popularity/good.

I think product placement is the best way to do advertisement, so long as it isn't too blatant and/or affect the story.

I like it too...maybe we can get rid of commercials so I don't have to bother skipping them with my dvr
 

OldSchoolMacGuy

Suspended
Jul 10, 2008
4,197
9,050
The fact that someone watches all these movies and records every single product reference is sad.

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So, we're now giving awards to companies who can spend the most on product placement? Ugh. I'm a product of its grip, but goodness capitalism is depressing sometimes.

Apple has always claimed they do NOT pay for product placement. This is why it was so impressive that they'd beat big names as they didn't spend anything and were beating out those that spent millions. Much like Microsoft paying the NFL $400 million to use the Surface and the commentators are still caught using iPads instead.

xVXFcjp.jpg
 

Saucesome2000

macrumors 6502
Dec 10, 2014
338
320
Nashville, TN
I guess top-grossing is the key term because I see at the very least an iPhone in almost every movie and television show I watch. Even shows like Carly (I have young kids who watched it) would show them using Apple computers with a pear logo. I still consider this Apple product placement. We all know what those computers are representing.

I think Vikings is the only show I currently watch that doesn't have Apple products in it.
 

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,100
19,598
Is it really surprising that Apple won best placement and Beats won worst? As you can tell, I'm still salty about Beats. Not a fan. Typically I just choose to ignore that they have anything to do with Apple. Yep, I'm delusional. Deal with it.
 

longofest

Editor emeritus
Jul 10, 2003
2,924
1,682
Falls Church, VA
There's product placement that's subtle and okay (like literally just the product being there, without naming it or even mentioning it) and product placement that's intrusive and annoying. A notable example for latter is Microsoft's kind of product placements. I don't know if I'm the only one, but whenever Bing, the Surface, Skype or the Xbox shows up, it feels like a smack in the face. Completely destroys every kind of suspense of disbelief that might have built up.

I very much agree.

However, the Apple placement in Winter Soldier was awesome. They interweave comedy into it and everything.
 

heeloliver

macrumors 6502a
Sep 6, 2014
639
423
I still remember, more than 10 years ago, seeing a Mac on screen and thinking "Ooh. A Mac" and feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside.
Back when Apple was the underdog. :rolleyes:

Please bear in mind that I'm not from the states before (if) replying.

Well, technically, they're still the underdog. But in wealthy western cities you can find them more!! :rolleyes:
 

bennibeef

macrumors 6502
May 22, 2013
340
161
As long as it doesn't get as weird as Microsofts product placement in House of Cards season 3. The guy went "let me make that easier for you" and walks over to the TV and drags the picture out of the surface on to the TV. And the dialogue pauses when he's doing it. I got embarrassed watching it.

Yeah that was bad, but not as bad in some Navy CIS: LA episode where there where really showing off the Surface. Like a complete scene just showing that nerd guy flipping out the kickstand and putting the surface down.
 

commander.data

macrumors 65816
Nov 10, 2006
1,056
183
A quick tangential reference to an iPod Shuffle in The Lego Movie also helped Apple reign over previous winners like Budweiser (2013) and Mercedes-Benz (2012), and just barely beat out the likes of Coca-Cola and Sony for the award.
I suppose it's ironic that the iPod Shuffle is what put Apple over the top given it hasn't received any attention from Apple itself in years. Its last refresh other than colour changes was in 2010.
 

numlock

macrumors 68000
Mar 13, 2006
1,590
88
I still remember, more than 10 years ago, seeing a Mac on screen and thinking "Ooh. A Mac" and feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside.
Back when Apple was the underdog. :rolleyes:

Please bear in mind that I'm not from the states before (if) replying.

even though macs had a very small marketshare they have been quite well represented in media since at least the 90s. seinfeld, the net and sex and the city are just 3 examples.

i suppose since they were the underdog that you didnt feel quite as alienated.
 

LordVic

Cancelled
Sep 7, 2011
5,938
12,458
I still remember, more than 10 years ago, seeing a Mac on screen and thinking "Ooh. A Mac" and feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside.
Back when Apple was the underdog. :rolleyes:

Please bear in mind that I'm not from the states before (if) replying.

Still technically the underdog, at least in the PC marketplace.

which is why its interesting when you see popular media that has an Overwhelming high appearance of Apple computers.

if you believed hollywood and popular media you would think Apple as 80% of the market.

Apple is in fact < 15% of the PC world.
 

Roessnakhan

macrumors 68040
Sep 16, 2007
3,518
510
ABQ
As long as it doesn't get as weird as Microsofts product placement in House of Cards season 3. The guy went "let me make that easier for you" and walks over to the TV and drags the picture out of the surface on to the TV. And the dialogue pauses when he's doing it. I got embarrassed watching it.

I didn't mind them using Windows phones or whatever else, but that one seemed more a plug for Samsung tablets and TV's. And yes, it was cringeworthy.
 
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