Fictionalized Brands as Effective Product Placement

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]