(Commercial) Lifestyle Integration
It comes as no surprise that the most effective product placements come as an integrated part of a storyline (or the lifestyle of a subject). However, as product so often can be used to define “character” on television or in movies (and it can be a helpful cue, as you only have 2 hours or less to intimately know the subject), I am curious as to whether or all placements are paid spots (James Bond seems like an overt operation… while Breakfast at Tiffany’s, well, that might be an unfair example) and which are not. At what point do products become cultural items, iconic of a generation or a specific idea, and thereby placement is a way to showcase depth, nuance, associations?
For example, the NYT reported last week that the most effective product placement on television in 2007 was Guitar Hero in South Park (garnering a Q-Ratio of 18.63). The product was keystone to the plot line — and it is a popular game (hurrah!) — so do the writers invent this storyline independently or are the writers sitting around playing rock band (oops, sorry) and suddenly have an epiphany? Some of the others in the “Effectiveness of Placements in 2007″ seem to be obvious paid spots (or maybe I assume less integrity to the shows they appear in?), but some don’t: #5 is Etch-A-Sketch on Late Night with David Letterman! When was the last Etch-A-Sketch promotional campaign?
What if a writer creates a storyline that involves a particular product, let’s say a story about a lady who is baking a chicken for her sweetheart and some key dialog is delivered over the basting in the le creuset dutch oven. If not a sponsorship, does the writer have to pay the brand (if the logo shows up? if intellectual property is in evidence, i.e. a Eames chair?) for the use or association? If a product has become iconic (say, Tiffany’s, as above), is there a rule such as common parlance (i.e. Xerox, Kleenex) that allows a more general use of (and right to use) a product in a creative endeavor?
Lawrence Lessig might have the answer for me. Meanwhile, I will continue to place my imaginary heroine in a Vapor (limited edition, circa 2000) Beetle, and see how far we get.