Music videos have long been a sandbox for product placement, but apparently the practice is turning into product disgracement.
Exhibit A via MediaPost’s Engage:GenY blog, regarding fun’s “We Are Young” video:
The song used during the [Chevy Sonic Super Bowl ad] stood out — music has always been a cultural touch point with Millennials — so I was soon looking up the band and checking out the video. It’s a beautiful slow-motion club scene … that is shamelessly interrupted by a Windows phone that tries to steal the spotlight from the band with a screen shots of the device that fill the frame. It’s an obvious product placement for a less-than-hip brand trying to get in with the band and win over Millennials. In short, it’s forced and doesn’t show any understanding of the audience.
Judge for yourself:
Sneak ADtack! Prediction: The increasingly intrusive nature of product placement (see here for another egregious example) will eventually undermine the practice.
The song used during the [Chevy Sonic Super Bowl ad] stood out — music has always been a cultural touch point with Millennials — so I was soon looking up the band and checking out the video. It’s a beautiful slow-motion club scene … that is shamelessly interrupted by a Windows phone that tries to steal the spotlight from the band with a screen shots of the device that fill the frame. It’s an obvious product placement for a less-than-hip brand trying to get in with the band and win over Millennials. In short, it’s forced and doesn’t show any understanding of the audience.
Campaign Outsider 