Product placement, or embedded marketing,[1][2][3][4] is a form ofadvertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid

of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. Traditionally the product placement is not disclosed at the time that the good or service is featured. In April 2006, Broadcasting & Cable reported, "Two thirds of advertisers employ 'branded entertainment'product placementwith the vast majority of that (80%) in commercial TV programming." The story, based on a survey by the Association of National Advertisers, said "Reasons for using in-show plugs varied from 'stronger emotional connection' to better dovetailing with relevant content, to targeting a specific group."[5] Contents [hide]

1 Early examples 2 Placement in movies 3 Product placement in movies 4 Product Placement in television
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4.1 Digital product placement 4.2 Self promotion 4.3 Product placement in soap operas in the US and New Zealand

5 Product placement in video games 6 Sports

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6.1 NFL

7 Categories and variations 8 Measuring effectiveness 9 Consumer response and economic impact 10 Products
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10.1 Automobiles 10.2 Consumer electronics and computers 10.3 Food and drink 10.4 Travel 10.5 Tobacco 11.1 Reality television

11 Radio, television and publishing

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11.2 Public and educational television 11.3 Television programs 11.4 Advertiser-produced programming 11.5 Comic publishing 11.6 Music and recording industries 11.7 Legal considerations

11.7.1 United States

12 Extreme and unusual examples

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12.1 Self-criticism 12.2 Faux product placement and parodies 12.3 Reverse placement 12.4 Virtual placement 12.5 Viewer response

13 Product displacement 14 See also 15 Further reading 16 References Placement in movies Recognizable brand names appeared in movies from cinema's earliest history. Before films were even narrative forms in the sense that they are recognised today, industrial concerns funded the making of what film scholar Tom Gunning has described as "cinematic attractions"[12] these were short films of no longer than one or two minutes. In the first decade or so of film history (1895 1907) audiences did not go to see films as narrative art forms but as fairground attractions interesting for the amazing visual effects they appeared to be. This format was much better suited to product placement than the narrative form of cinema that came later when film making became a more organised industry. Taking this as a starting point, Leon Gurevitch has argued that early cinematic attractions share more in common with the adverts that emerged from the television industry in the 1950s than they do with traditional films.[13]Gurevitch suggests that as a result, the relationship between cinema and advertising is more intertwined than previous historians have credited, suggesting that the birth of cinema was in part the result of advertising and the economic kickstart that it provided early film makers.[9] Kerry Segrave details the industries that advertised in these early films and goes on to give a thorough account of the history of product placement over the following century.[14] In the 1920s, the weekly trade

periodical Harrison's Reports published its first denunciation of that practice with respect to Red Crown gasoline appearing in the comedy film The Garage (1919), directed by and costarring Fatty Arbuckle.[15]

Product placement in movies Product placement is an investment for brands trying to reach a niche audience, and there are strong reasons for investors to expect that film product placement will increase consumer awareness of a particular brand. A big-budget feature film that has expectations of grossing millions may attract many commercial interests; however, the film studio must also analyze if a product fits with the image of the film. A high-profile star may draw more attention to a product, and therefore, in many cases, this becomes a separate point of negotiation within his or her contract.[16] Firms paid $722 million in fees, free product placement, and promotional support for film placement in 2005, and by 2010, spending on film placement is predicted to surge to 1.8 billion. In 2002, Volkswagen spent an estimated $200 million in fees to be integrated into NBC Universal films. Among the famous silent films to feature product placement was Wings (1927), the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It contained a plug for Hershey's chocolate. Fritz Lang's film M (released in 1931) includes features a prominent banner display on a staircase in one scene forWrigley's PK Chewing Gum, which is right in the viewer's eye for approximately 2030 seconds. Another early example in film occurs in Horse Feathers (1932), wherein Thelma Todd's character falls out of a canoe and into a river. She calls for a life saver and Groucho Marx's character tosses her a Life Savers candy. The film It's a Wonderful Life (1946), directed by Frank Capra, depicts a young boy with aspirations to be an explorer, displaying a prominent copy of National Geographic. In the film Love Happy (1949), Harpo Marx's character cavorts on a rooftop among various billboards and at one point escapes from the villains on the old Mobil logo, the "Flying Red Horse". Harrison's Reports severely criticized this scene in its film review[17] and in a front-page editorial of the same issue. In the film noir Gun Crazy (1949), the climactic crime is the payroll robbery of the Armour meat-packing plant, where aBulova clock is prominently seen.

In other early media, e.g., radio in the 1930s and 1940s and early television in the 1950s, television programs were often underwritten by companies. "Soap operas" are called such because they were initially underwritten by consumer, packaged-goods companies such as Procter & Gamble or Unilever. When television began to displace radio,DuMont's Cavalcade of Stars television show was, in its era, notable for not relying on a sole sponsor in the tradition of NBC's Texaco Star Theater and similar productions. Sponsorship exists today with programs being sponsored by major vendors such as Hallmark Cards. The conspicuous display of Studebaker motor vehicles in the television series Mr. Ed (1961 1966), which was sponsored by the Studebaker Corporation from 1961 to 1963, as well as the display of Ford vehicles on the seriesHazel (19611966), which was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company from 1961 to 1965, are also notable examples of product placement. Incorporation of products into the actual plot of a film or television show is generally called "brand integration". An early example of such brand integration was by Abercrombie & Fitch, when one of its stores provided the notional venue for part of the romantic comedy film Man's Favorite Sport? (1964) starring Rock Hudson and Paula Prentiss. The 1995 film GoldenEye was the focus of a highly successful BMW campaign, devised by product placement specialist Karen Sortito, which promoted the automaker's new Z3 model. Sales of the Z3 surged as film claimed the top spot at the box office. For the next film in the James Bond franchise, Tomorrow Never Dies, Sortito created a $100 million promotional campaign that included tie-ins with BMW, Visa, L'Oral, Ericsson, Heineken, Avis, and Omega SA. The film brought in more than $300 million dollars. With the 2002 film Die Another Day, Smirnoff withdrew from its long association with James Bond, which started withSean Connery in the 1962 film Dr No. The drinks company wanted to pursue a younger age-group than that deemed to be that which followed Bond films. As a result, Finlandia Vodka became the brand used in the Pierce Brosnan film. As Ford had supplied models of their cars for the 2004 film Thunderbirds, their logo on the cars appears many times in the film, even up close. A recent example is HBO's Sex and the City (19982004), where the plot revolved around, among other things,Absolut Vodka, a campaign upon which one of the protagonists was working, and a billboard in Times Square, where a bottle prevented an image of the model from being pornographic. Knight Rider (19821986), a television series featuring a talking Pontiac Trans Am, is another example of brand integration.

The above discussion of the various types of product placements and the use of the AIDA model to measure effectiveness leads directly to the following research questions. 1. Which type of product placements in American movies affect Thai audiences the most? 2. At which level in the AIDA model do product placements in American movies influence Thai audiences most effectively?

Significance of the Study

The findings of this study are beneficial to marketers, product manufacturers and services companies wishing to know the effectiveness of product placements in American movies on Thai audiences, to enable them to make effective media mixes with which to reach their target markets and match their advertising programs and marketing objectives. 7 Thai advertisers might also find an additional advertising tactic and medium to use to send messages to consumers. Advertisers will learn which types of product placements affect Thai audiences the most. Thai consumers and movie goers will learn about product placement as another kind of advertising tactic, so that when they see movies, they might not be so easily influenced by the tactic.