The story of close relationship between brands and cinematography started nearly at the same time as the cinema itself was born—in the beginning of the movie era, the big companies promoted their products though short clips which were screened before movies. Now it’s not that easy to tell for sure for which product the pioneer ad was created, but according to a range of sources (IMDB is one of them), the first filmed advertising for a today’s global brand was shot for Dewar’s Scotch Whisky (1897). Today, connections between filmmaking industry and brands go beyond this simple presence and include a lot of examples such as much discussed product placement, festival sponsorship and opening cinema clubs, cinema-related advertising campaigns, collaboration with filmmakers on commercials, and creating movies under brands’ supervision.
Nike
Nike has released ‘Bleed Blue Pledge,’ a new ad campaign where the pride, passion, and fearless soul of Indian cricket brought to life through the voice of the elite athletes of Team India. During the 60-second ad the members of the Indian Cricket Team articulate the passion for cricket in this country, pulling back the curtain long enough for the viewer to witness how the game is played, loved and revered from the perspective of the athlete.
Converse in partnership with Thrasher Magazine, opened a new, specially created skate ramp to host the Texas Style Death Match on March 16–March 20 at The Scoot Inn. The four-day event is a free, interactive experience and engages the global Team Converse skate ambassadors, emerging alternative bands and the local skate community in Texas. Incorporating two music stages, best trick competitions and open skating, the Texas Style Death Match will once again be the only integrated music and skate event open and accessible to all during one of the largest music festivals in Austin, such as SXSW.
Nike in collaboration with Waves for Water, the philanthropic organization supported by Hurley International (subsidiary of Nike), presented the Gamechanger Bucket—a container, which provides access to both clean water and sport. Because of the dramatic earthquake in Haiti in the beginning of last year and due to the poor clean water supply in the country (Haiti doesn’t have public water system and is classified as having the worst water ranking out of 147 countries in the world), in October the country experienced an outbreak of cholera. This kit, containing water filter and tarp & rope for catching rain, was designed to help tackle the problem and prevent new epidemic outbursts.
Yesterday, March 3, TED, the non-profit organization behind the TED Conference and TED Talks, announced 10 winners of its first Ads Worth Spreading competition, which was launched late September, 2010. The idea behind the contest was to celebrate the hilarious commercials that run longer than traditional TV Ads (up to 5 minutes instead of 30 seconds), which is enough “to make an authentic human connection” and tell an engaging and intelligent story. The top-10 list of 2011 winners includes clips, which were developed between January 2010 and January 2011 for organizations and brands including Chrysler, Intel and Target.
Product placement eliminates the border between today’s movies and commercials, making films look like extended adverts, packed with multiple (usually) brand products. The trend isn’t new, but over the recent years it has been really blooming, and that’s why it deserves to be thoroughly observed. Brandchannel, the webby-award winning website from Interbrand—the leading global brand consultancy, published its Brandcameo Product Placement Awards 2010, honoring the good, the bad, and the ugly (and the most) product placement in films released.