Let’s not forget the real star of Barbie: shameless product placement
Amelia Tait
December 2019
Selling James Bond: why No Time to Die is a product placement dream
The trailer is not only a shopfront for the film but also for some of the world’s priciest brands
January 2018
Coronation Street signs product placement deals with Co-op and Costa
Forget product placement: now advertisers can buy storylines
July 2017
Channel 4's Bake Off set 'will be product-placement-free'
Integrity of biggest show on British TV is sacrosanct, says source close to Love Productions, as ad spots sell like hot cakes
March 2017
Shortcuts
Sauce material: how Mad Men wrote the new Heinz ads
The ketchup-makers have at last picked up a 1968 pitch from Don Draper – but real-life brand association was in the show’s blood
February 2017
Shortcuts
Why the £160,000 ‘Oscars goody bag’ could come with a five-figure debt
The bundle of luxury goods given to Academy Award nominees is an unofficial cash-in – and could mean a hefty tax bill for its recipients
June 2016
New technology could add product placement to old TV programmes
Described as ‘product placement on steroids’, the technique is being premiered for Bushmills whiskey on Vice’s TV channel
April 2016
Paramount sued by Chinese company for failed Transformers product placement
A tourism firm is taking the studio to court for $27m, claiming that a promised use of its logo in 2014’s Age of Extinction film never took place
February 2016
Shortcuts
Beyoncé, lobsters and the value of a lyrical namedrop
Oscars gift bag worth $200k to include breast lift, sex toy and walking tour of Japan
November 2015
Children's rights and business
Essena O'Neill: can kids spot covert marketing by social media stars?
Brands are using young influencers with big online followings to market their products, but real life and paid for endorsement can sometimes become blurred
October 2015
James Bond fans need not fear Spectre of product placement
Yes, there are brands to be seen in the latest Bond film but, unlike some past 007 outings, retail showboating does not trip up the action
September 2015
Triumph revival fuelled by continuing nostalgia for 1960s retro chic
Growth of classic bike market sees models used in TV shows and even forging new affinity with fashion world
June 2015
Brands and bands – product placement in pop is a betrayal of fans’ loyalty
Rebecca Nicholson
Half of all product namechecks in song lyrics apparently appeared between 2000 and 2010. Don’t bands realise these clunking references are a turn-off?
March 2015
Milking it: Transformers 4 wins prize for movie with most product placement
Michael Bay blockbuster missed out on hoped-for Oscar nominations but did top list of movies pushing consumer products, featuring plugs for 55 brands including Budweiser, Armani and Yili milk
December 2014
A view to a sell: will Spectre’s brands get the traditional Bond boost?
Steve Rose: Product placement in 007 films is nothing new, but it’s not always the big deals, such as Heineken’s in Skyfall and now Belvedere vodka for Spectre, that pay the biggest dividends
November 2014
The car’s the star: William Boyd gets into Land Rover tie-in deal
Boyd’s new short story, The Vanishing Game, was not only commissioned by the firm but is ‘an act of homage’ to the 4x4, writes Alison Flood
July 2014
Fashion blog
The top 30 brands mentioned in Sex and the City
An artist has counted the number of times every brand was mentioned in the US TV series Sex and the City for a video montage. Who'd have thought Post-it notes got more mentions than Prada? Here's the top 30 …
