Thursday, May 24th, 2012
Morgan Spurlock, the creator of Super Size Me, has produced the mother of all product placement films: Pom Wonderful: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.
In the documentary, Spurlock explores product placement in film and television, showcasing how filmmakers integrate brands in their productions.
According to Spurlock, the idea for the film came to him after he witnessed a blatant product placement in his favorite television show, Heroes. In one scene, Hayden Panettiere—a character in the series—was given a Nissan Rogue by her parents for her birthday. Upon seeing the scene, Spurlock said: “Wow. That just happened. I really watched a commercial in the middle of the show right now.”
In the film, Spurlock meets with marketing directors to try to sell his film to different brands. He repeatedly gets turned down. Many brands did not want to help him, citing his previous work with the brand dissection of McDonalds as a reason.
In the end, Spurlock found his sponsor in Pom Wonderful, the juice manufacturer. After that, more brands followed.
The creator says that producers use product placement to get some funding from the brands. However, this can affect the creative integrity of the production.
