The Virtuous Circle of Product Placement in Apple's TV+ Shows

[CarlJ]

They're all using actual alarm clocks, and they're all facing away from the bed.

First off, what type of savage points the clock where you can't see what time it is?

Someone who doesn't want the light from the display shining on them when they're trying to sleep, as well as someone who doesn't really want to know what hour it is (and how close morning is) if they wake up momentarily in the dark. My wife was an insomniac, these were her reasons for turning the clock away.

 

[ChromeAce]

Whoever greenlit this much blatant product placement in the first 5 minutes of the first-to-air flagship show of a brand new network owned and operated by the company who makes the products should never work in production again. I literally thought I was watching either an Apple commercial or some SNL parody; it was THAT bad.

 

[mikethemartian]

$15 million per episode. I remember back in the 80s they would talk about how expensive Miami Vice was at $1.3 million per episode which is about $3.2 million adjusted for inflation today.

 

[Fiachers]

What do you mean “an impressive count”? Never read anything so lame in my life.

 

[pika2000]

32 times per episode is not "subtle". It's shameful.

It’s still better than James Bond using Sony phones and gadgets.

 

[mpfuchs]

Haven't seen any Apple logos in "For all Mankind".
So I guess it has more to do with the times we live in.

 

[centauratlas]

i enjoyed TMS and FAMK. I wish they'd release a version of at least FAMK without the cursing because I think some kids (our's) would enjoy them.

 

[techfreak23]

Ha, it's hilarious that the MacBooks are not even facing the correct direction for the people to be using them in the two pictures posted in the article. I know I always keep the backside of the computer facing me when it's sitting on my desk....

Umm... those pictures are fine. You do realize that the Apple logo faces AWAY from you when you’re sitting at it closed, right? It’s so that the Apple logo isn’t upside down when you open it...

Literally came here to post that I hope Apple at least showcases their products being used correctly. Can’t tell you how many other shows I’ve seen feature iPhones where the phone was being held upside down or they were on some screen they shouldn’t be when on a call, etc.. Messes with my immersion when small details like that are overlooked. It would be terrible if Apple did that with their own products.
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I wonder if the EU is going to investigate them for anti-competitive issues.

E.U.: “You’re not showing a diverse enough set of products in your show. FINE! MONOPOLY!”

 

[Alan Wynn]

Half-nope. I concede that I shouldn’t’ve said “paid” but you’re making the mistake of conflating free placement with hiding logos.

Not really, I am saying that when logos are hidden, it is usually for one of five reasons:

1. The producers did not get (either did not try or tried and failed to get) clearance.
2. The producers paid for the machines themselves and do not want to provide free placement.
3. The producers are being paid for placement by someone else (see the Dell ’servers’ in Angela’s lab in Bones) and are prohibited from having a competing product visible.
4. The producers want to be able to sell placement in the future and do not want to worry about conflicts.
5. The producers do not like money and oppose product placement even when it is organic and instead call out that these are Macs by hiding their logos.

Look at Mission Impossible, 30 Rock, Modern Family, 24, and a vast array of films and shows going back decades.

Modern Family had a whole episode shot using FaceTime, but they had no real support from Apple.

You’re going to see Apple logos and marks all over the place, regardless of whether or not they were paid for.

Art Directors and Prop Masters use Macs and iPhones because they like the look and/or because that is what many of them use themselves. They are often in places where an ugly machine would standout in the scene, even if they do not really make sense there.

 

[cylack]

Wealthy professionals are who I would expect to be using Apple products so these placements don't seem forced.

 

[Khedron]

Wealthy professionals are who I would expect to be using Apple products so these placements don't seem forced.

How many professionals have HomePods in their office though?

 

[Alan Wynn]

How many professionals have HomePods in their office though?

In Media and Entertainment? Quite few. Just as most have iPhones and Macs.

 

[Superrenz]

Apple products are visible in an average of 32 camera shots in each episode of "The Morning Show," and an Apple logo is visible in roughly one-third of those shots, based on a tally count by The Wall Street Journal.

Reese Witherspoon's character sleeps beside her iPhone and MacBook in 'The Morning Show'​

In one four-second scene in episode one of the flagship Apple TV+ series, nine Apple products are shown as two characters walk and talk through a newsroom, according to WSJ's report.

As far as product placement goes, it's an impressive count for the newsroom drama, which debuted last week to a mixed critical reception but a generally favorable audience reaction, according to review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

"The Morning Show" stars Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell, and reportedly costs more than $15 million per episode, but as a vehicle to push Apple's own products, it could be worth tens of millions of dollars. WSJ:
Other Apple products that get decent screen time in the series include MacBooks and iMacs, iPads, and AirPods and Apple Watches. Even the HomePod speaker makes a cameo on a producer's office desk.

Spending on product placement has doubled since 2012 to about $10 billion, according to PQ Media, a media research firm that tracks the industry. However, Apple has said it doesn't pay for product placement, and people close to "The Morning Show" told WSJ that producers weren't under pressure to include Apple products in the shows.

Of course it helps that Apple products are very popular - the iPhone has a 35 percent share of the U.S. smartphone market - so it stands to reason that Apple products will appear in shows depicting modern life. Apple products often show up in other TV series not affiliated with Apple, too. But as WSJ notes, the iPhone appears in "The Morning Show" so much that it can seem like an appendage.

The office of 'The Morning Show' character Chip Black, played by actor Mark Duplass​

Some viewers may consider the flagship series to be overzealous in its product placement, but the very fact that Apple is able to promote its hardware in a subscription service that was designed to help lessen the company's dependency on its iPhone business at a time of slowing sales, is a sweet sort of irony. If the service is a success, it could well be a virtuous circle for Apple's long-term product revenues.
Apple is providing customers with a free 7-day trial for ?Apple TV?+, which is priced at $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year. Apple is also offering all customers who purchased an ?Apple TV?, iPhone, iPad, Mac, or iPod touch after September 10 one free year of access to ?Apple TV?+.

Article Link: The Virtuous Circle of Product Placement in Apple's TV+ Shows

Wow there are Apple products in frame in a TV show produced by Apple. You gotta be kidding me. What do you expect? Samsung and Microsoft?

 

[Khedron]

In Media and Entertainment? Quite few. Just as most have iPhones and Macs.

For what purpose?

Are they just for modern decoration and not even plugged in?

 

[gkarris]

Given that it's impossible to showcase Apple gadgets in "See", "Dickinson" and "For All Mankind", TMS must be the product placement fest!

I haven't seen any in Snoopy...

 

[Rlittle89]

How unrealistic, no one actually owns a HomePod and enjoys it.

 

[78Bandit]

For what its worth, Microsoft has product placement on some CBS shows. The new Magnum P.I. regularly features the Surface Laptop, and I've seen Surface Headphones prominently featured on at least two episodes. NCIS also has closeup shots of the Windows desktop, and both it and Hawaii Five-0 featured Windows Phones back when they were available.

I'm sure there were other instances as well, but those are the few shows that I watched.

I can't blame Apple for featuring its products in shows for which they are footing the bill. I do wish it were a little less gratuitous though.

 

[Optheduim]

This caught my eye as well while watching the show. However, I don't disagree with their choice in doing so. I mean... were you expecting an android?

 

[gbc204]

The product placement in the first episode was downright a distraction like they weren’t even trying to be subtle about it.

I definitely noticed it but not really out of place for NY media people to be using iPhones. The only thing that really stuck out to me was that all the breaking news alerts were Apple News alerts. That seems less realistic.

 

[Gasu E.]

First off, what type of savage points the clock where you can't see what time it is?

Anyone with sleep problems, an irregular sleep schedule, or who has an unnatural sleep schedule. Those would include me, so thanks for the insult.

 

[Defthand]

This is actually a thing that Steve Jobs thought about. He wanted (and got) some of the first Apple notebooks to have the Apple logo facing the user as it was opened, resulting in an up-side down logo when it was open. They reversed course in later models.

Surprised he compromised either way, and didn’t insist on a logo that rotates as the lid opens.

 

[I7guy]

For what purpose?

Are they just for modern decoration and not even plugged in?

Sure, that makes sense. Buy working consumer electronics just for decorative purposes only.

 

[BuffaloTF]

Anyone with sleep problems, an irregular sleep schedule, or who has an unnatural sleep schedule. Those would include me, so thanks for the insult.

Since we also have trouble with sarcasm and facetiousness... allow me to point out that if we're taking my comment seriously, it also provides the solution. Get rid of it. Use the alarm on your phone... the screen is off unless you touch it.

 

[paul4339]

How many professionals have HomePods in their office though?

Lots of people have Homepods in the their office and commonly use (especially in arts and media) Apple products.

HOWEVER, I'm not sure how many place their Homepod in front of their iMac... most people, I believe, have their speakers out of the way or to the side.

 

[jerryk]

Now I have to watch "Jack Ryan" on Amazon again and see how many times they use Alexa speakers and Echo earbuds. My memory says the number is 0.
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Lots of people have Homepods in the their office and commonly use (especially in arts and media) Apple products.

HOWEVER, I'm not sure how many place their Homepod in front of their iMac... most people, I believe, have their speakers out of the way or to the side.

That is first Homepod I have seen in the wild.