It’s time to discuss one of our favorite types of marketing plays: product placements. They’re most popular in the world of entertainment, from TV shows to films, and yes, music videos. They come in many forms, including the following:
Screen Placements: Featured in the foreground or background of a shot.
Script Placements: Incorporated into the script.
Plot Placements: Embedded as parts of the storyline.
Regardless of the type, product placements are a powerful way for brands to reach their consumers, enabling them to kill two birds with one stone: building brand awareness while showcasing their cultural relevance.
When executed well, consumers view these placements less as advertisements (even though that's exactly what they are) and more like a fun game of "Where's Waldo?", kind of like an Easter egg hunt. The best product placements are subtle; they naturally blend into the scene, turning it into a contest of who spots them first. Beyond the competitive thrill, it's an enjoyable way for consumers to express their support. As an outsider, you feel like part of the brand's family, pointing at the TV and cheering them on as they make such a big splash.
Fast forward to today, product placements are still going strong. Sometimes, too strong. Remember that spin-off starring Addison Rae, “He’s All That”? If you don't, it's not your fault. It’s probably because the majority of coverage about the movie was focused on the excessive number of product placements throughout:
There was really no product left behind, from EOS and Alo to Doritos and KFC. It wasn’t subtle either — the first placement appeared about 15 seconds into the opening scene, and they didn’t let up. Despite facing criticism and being labeled as "cringeworthy" by Business Insider (yikes), they’re not alone.
Major TV shows like Emily in Paris have been doing the same. Much of the designer clothing and accessories worn by Emily herself, as well as other cast members, were sponsored by brands. In addition, many product placements were seamlessly integrated into the storyline, such as Rimowa in Season 2. Then there were the Grey Goose product placements throughout Season 3 that were impossible to miss:
When the featured products are made by corporate giants like Pepsi and BACARDÍ, the conversation always centers around one thing: money. "How much do you think they paid for those three seconds?!" It’s not inherently negative; it’s a valid question, but it doesn’t necessarily translate into a choir of support for the brand either. There are instances when it can, mainly when smaller (by comparison) indie brands have their products in the spotlight:
In many, if not all, of the cases above, the products featured were not part of an official paid partnership. In fact, they were likely featured because the crew or stars of the show are genuine fans of the brands. Nonetheless, each of their consumer bases was genuinely ecstatic to see their favorite products on TV and enjoyed celebrating with the founders, many of whom didn’t even know they were being featured. The shock and surprise on their faces was endearing — you felt like part of the celebration with them. Cynics may say this excitement would go away the second brands put money behind the feature. We’re looking at this in a more positive light: consumers are increasingly excited to see their favorite indie brands featured in this way.
Beyond film and TV, another category of entertainment we want to cover is the music industry, which has a longstanding history with product placements. You probably never realized it, but some of your favorite music videos were filled with them:
In Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean?” video, his existing partnership with Calvin Klein likely explained the close-up shots of his boxers — the placement was probably part of his contract. For others, like Miley during her “We Can’t Stop” video, her use of EOS probably wasn’t because of her love for the product, but more likely the substantial check she received from the brand. As a whole, music videos are very significant moments for any artist, so the price to be featured is undoubtedly steep. It’s for that reason that the products featured are often by large corporations.
If you’re like us, you’ve probably been waiting for small, indie brands to have their moment, and in the last couple of weeks, we’re starting to see them unfold. A couple of weeks ago, Fletcher dropped her music video for her song “Pretending,” and Reddit was quick to notice Glossier’s You Perfume featured in a number of frames:
Last week, Supergoop followed with their Glowscreen Sunscreen being featured in Sabrina Carpenter's “Espresso” music video:
Sabrina IS the moment, and any music video she releases would have been huge for Supergoop. But given her Coachella debut — and the amount her team was investing to promote both the performance and the new single — this music video had even more eyes on it than usual, making it an extra-large moment for the brand. Supergoop fans took notice and expressed their excitement on social media:
We felt the same way. While these types of partnerships probably take months to develop, seeing another one so soon after Glossier's cemented this new channel as top of mind for brands, assuring us that we'd be seeing more of them soon.
About 10 minutes after the video dropped, we reached out to our friends at Supergoop for the inside scoop on this partnership. We connected with Paige Edmonds, AVP, Global Brand Marketing at Supergoop, to ask her all about it. Why use music videos as a marketing channel? Why Sabrina? And what level of creative involvement did their team have in the video? Here’s what Paige shared:
PEOPLE BRANDS AND THINGS: We’d love to know more about how this partnership came to be. Also, why Sabrina Carpenter specifically?
Paige Edmonds: Sabrina has been an organic fan of Supergoop! for years integrating Glowscreen into her daily skincare routine and glam "GRWM" looks so this was the perfect moment for us to appear alongside her in a bigger way.
PBT: Why invest in a music video as a marketing channel?
PE: We know our customer is always online and tuned into cultural moments like this so we try to reach her there driving cultural currency and relevancy for the brand.
PBT: Did you have any creative say in how the product was featured? What was your level of involvement in the music video?
PE: We can take no credit for the masterpiece of a video that is Espresso! We simply provided Sabrina with her favorite SPF and let her and her team do their thing!
Want to submit a pitch? Email (or DM) us: peoplebrandsandthings@gmail.com.
Very interesting!
The Susan Alexandra moment in Curbed is everything.