Buy, Buy, Buy
Do you ever find yourself watching TV and seeing obvious brand logos and product placements everywhere? Sometimes it feels like I can’t escape from advertisements even if I’m streaming without commercial breaks. It’s like everything I see in the media and daily life is some form of advertisement. It’s practically inescapable no matter where you are or what you’re doing and it’s getting pretty absurd.
Logos and product placements everywhere I look make it feel like my very existence is an opportunity for someone to make money. Granted, it is. I mean, this is probably where my impulsive consumerism habits come from. There are so many iconic product placements that to this day stand out to viewers. For example, every time someone mentions Reece’s Pieces I can hear ET’s voice saying “Reece’s Pieces” echoing in my head. That’s how you know whether the product placement was successful or not. The ET voice rattling in my brain nearly 42 years after its release date.
Another one that stands out to me is the 2007 Transformers franchise with the bright yellow Chevrolet car that didn’t actually exist in real life. It’s very similar to a regular Camero but sported out with unique qualities that set it apart from the rest. They had the logo on display while advertising a fake car from a real brand. So if you were wondering if you could buy a real-life Bumblebee car, you can't.
The product placement that I know tops these, and any Gossip Girl fan would know, is the wild product placement of Vitamin Water that consisted for years. What was it about Vitamin Water in that show?? It seemed like any time the characters were having an event or just hanging out, someone had to be drinking Vitamin Water. The sponsorship was so heavy that the brand name was even put into the script having characters specifically ask for it. I vividly remember that one influencing me to crave Vitamin Water. They really knew what they were doing with that one.
These days it seems like you can put an advertisement on anything. Movies and TV (of course), buildings, podcasts, and radio shows, slathered all over any website page, even in the sky on some airplane! You name it, and it can be a space for an advertisement. All this to say, I remember watching an episode of Futurama in which the main character, Fry, wakes up a thousand years in the future and experiences an advertisement in his dreams. In his very dream, he starred as an actor in a commercial showing how great his life could be if he owned this product. However wacky and hilarious this seems, I feel that this concept may not be too far off in the future. Whether the ad just stands out in your memories so prominently that you have dreams about it or they actually find a way to broadcast ads in the middle of your REM sleep. Either way, it’s getting absolutely ridiculous. We exist as walking wallets in this rampant consumerist economy. Buy, buy, buy, as they say.
