Apple is the master of free product placement. How many shows or movies have you seen with an Apple product onscreen? When I used to work at Apple we had a full-time person (Hollywood@apple.com) whose sole job was to get Apple product placed on primetime and Hollywood productions. For free. The only stipulation was that Apple product could not be used for negative gains – if you notice, the Mac is often used by the hero.
Imagine how much such exposure would cost, even if you could pay for it (remember, most DVR users don’t ever see the commercials.) Today, marketers should investigate free product placement to showcase their products if possible, and yes, I recently asked Dimdim’s PR firm to explore this option for our free web meeting product. [Warning – blatant plug coming: If any TV or film exec is reading this, we’d be happy to provide our software which lets people chat, share webcams, and do VoIP calls from any browser with no software to install for your show – for free. Just contact me.]
With the recent American Idol deal, now many of the pre-song clips show those young people using iPods and iPhones – implicitly slipping a message to millions of viewers. More good marketing mojo.
Remember what computer Jeff Goldblum used to save the world in Independence Day?
Remember what computer Tom Cruise used in Mission Impossible?
I’m interested in hearing from you on recent Apple sightings on TV or film. Seen any good Apples lately?
The Daily Show ‘Electionorium’ has each correspondent typing away on a MacBook with the Apple logo front and center.
Nothing subtle about the placement.
I see Apple all the time on TV shows. Home & Garden Channel’s interior design shows they use a Macbook Pro (what I don’t understand is in one episode, the Apple logo is visible, right out in front, in another a silver sticker is covering it,) on the show “Bones” they use the Mac Cinema screens (sometimes the new iMacs,) and I see iphones a lot (on NBC!) “Traveler” and others. I’m a Mac fanatic so I spot them right away.
One place they use Macs, but don’t identify them as such is on the sleeze-tabloid show “Dirt.” All the computers the journalists write on are Macs, but they all have the Apple logo covered with Post It Notes – front and even back!
What’s up with that? Wouldn’t Apple pay for product placement on that show?
I loved the product placement on the movie The Devil Wears Prada!
I saw Spencer use an iPhone many times on the MTV show “the Hills”. Very cool because most personages on that show are using a blackberry.
Noticed them on the Devil Wears Prada..but also all the judges on the Australian version of So You Think You Can Dance have macs sitting front and centre on the judging panel.
any idea if I can upgrade to 32 gb from 16gb. if not, will go for mobile recycling. would love to hold this before I join university.
any idea if I can upgrade to 32 gb from 16gb. if not, will go for mobile recycling. would love to hold this before I join university.
How do you know movies and TV aren’t real? Phone numbers start with 555 and everyone uses a Mac.