As an antidote to the DVR culture that is making television commercials an advertising medium of the past, brands are increasingly turning to product placement as a means of reaching their audiences, albeit in an indirect fashion. And while these engagements might now be an unavoidable aspect of our cluttered media lives, is it only a matter of time before we become adept at filtering out this latest version of noise? That’s not to say that we’ll likely develop immunity to all brand messages, but expose viewers long enough or too often, and presumably the relative effectiveness starts to wain. However, if we’re not being sold to, does this relationship change?
In her new blog, Product Displacement, Gladys Santiago explores the use of fictionalized, imaginary products that reference actual brands, and unbranded products with recognizable brand logos that have been obscured. Particularly in instances where obvious stand-in products appear, Santiago theorizes that they speak to audiences in a more meaningful way, inviting them to be in on the joke per say. She explains in a recent post:
It requires no stretch of the imagination to recognize “Tit Tat” and “Coffee Bucks” as stand-ins for real brands, but that recognition allows audiences to engage with product placements in a manner that is significantly more encompassing than simply spotting a branded product onscreen. Referencing these product displacements to their real world counterparts requires audiences to actively draw upon their cultural capital and awareness, therefore they have more resonance than a strategically placed can of Coca-Cola or character mindlessly raving about his/her T-Mobile phone. Ultimately, product displacements have the opportunity to flatter the intelligence of viewers, especially if they are parodic and satirical in nature.
Still, until brands start paying for parodies of their products as a new form of subversive marketing, we can safely enjoy the spots without trying to determine what we’re supposed to be buying.
[via: murketing]
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Brilliant observations. Living in an age during which we’re constantly bombarded by brand advertising, we’ve become increasingly capable of paying it less attention. Beyond irony, it can be attributed to a combination of desensitization and annoyance: It’s easy to walk out of the room or mute the volume during a TV commercial to escape strategic increases in sound levels pushing PPM 6/+8dBm; similarly, Spotify’s music streaming application doesn’t allow muting during ad intervals, but wearing/removing headphones quickly does the trick.
To be honest, the last time I clicked on a banner ad was circa Y2K. But as a reluctant and impatient consumer of commercial media, I’m more inclined towards giving ‘product displacement’ a moment of thought because it entices with the opportunity — as Ms Santiago indicated — to reference knowledge, thus more intelligently engage trough implication and recognition. Thankfully, this opportunity also provides the catharsis I crave by allowing me to briefly mock the product when my ‘cultural capital’ is very much rooted in my disdain for advertising.
May 12th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
So brands definitely aren’t paying for these parodies?
It reminds me a little bit of when Formula 1 banned tobacco advertising, and the following season the Jordan team were rocking ‘Buzzin Hornets’ in place of Benson and Hedges. That must have been almost a decade ago, interesting to see this stuff still going on.
Certainly I remember the pay-off for the audience as far as tapping into my cultural capital and being ‘in on the joke.’
May 13th, 2009 at 5:19 am
I’d be surprised if Starbucks isn’t either funding the parody spots or trying to sue them.
On the upside, these fictional variations of existing brands not only create an in-joke, but they do so in a way that respects the fictional world / community built around these programs. In exchange for not disrupting / invalidating the fictional illusion, these companies are hoping viewers will appreciate their respect and sense of humor, and reward them with real-world purchases.
The layers of self-awareness necessary to execute this ad campaign successfully are actually pretty impressive…
May 13th, 2009 at 1:13 pm