If you’ve been around the last decade or so, you’ve probably seen a ton of movies. And if you don’t live in a pineapple under the sea or in a secluded cave in Timbuktu, you’ve probably seen movies based on books – especially teen flicks and rom-coms like the Twilight Saga and Crazy Rich Asians. These movies have a lot of not-so-hidden secrets in them called ad placements. These are product promotions in movie scenes and are incorporated into the stories seamlessly.
Think of Charlie, Bella’s dad in Twilight. In the movies, he’s often shown in scenes where he either holds or drinks a can of beer – a can of Ranier Beer. Think of Edward driving his sedan, it’s a silver Volvo. Think of the crazy rich Asians in the movie and the clothes they’re wearing. Those were Ralph Lauren, Dolce and Gabbana, Ellie Saab, Dior, and many other luxury brands. D&G and Bottega Venetta were even verbally mentioned as lead roles in the movie. These are just two examples but there are many more other books turned into movies that have done this. Seems like sometimes the pages of a book can be better brought to life by real brands on the big screen.
Why do brands put their products in movies?
Product placements have been around for a very long time. Even classics had them. This is a subtle way of building brand trust and recall. The more people see your brand or products, the easier it is for them to identify it when it’s time for them to choose. Why book adaptations? Well, maybe it has something to do with the fact most book adaptations are often very popular. Think about it there are movie lovers and there are book worms. Put them together in a cinema and you get a LOT of people looking at your brand without them realizing it.