Types of product placement

 

According to Smith (1985), brands are featured in four primary ways. First, the product can be seen on the background or it is actually being used. For instance, when actor Tom Hanks drinks from a bottle of Dr. Pepper in the movie Forrest Gump. Secondly, a corporate logo, trademark or other identifying characteristic of the brand is shown. For example, using an Aston Martin car in all the James Bond movies. Next, when an advertisement, like a billboard or a television commercial is placed into a scene in the background. Finally, in a dialogue they can refer to a brand name, without actually saying the name. For example, in Forrest Gump they referred to Apple with “the computing machine with the fruit on it”.  

Castendyk and Dommering [1] also describe different forms of product placement, which are comparable with Smith [2]. The simplest form is the inclusion of a product as a décor piece, such as a product on the table. A variant of this is the inclusion of a billboard that promotes a particular product. The product can also be integrated into an action, such as when the actor takes a sip of a drink. 

References

[1] Castendyk, O., Dommering, E.J., Sheuer, A. (2008). European Media Law, Alphen aan den Rijn, Kluwer Law International, 2008, 1379 p.

[2] Smith, B. (1985). Casting product for special effect. Beverage World, 104,83-91.

[3] Stanley T.L. (2010). A place for everything. Brandweek 2010