Should Product Placement in Movies Be Banned?

Abstract

Product placement is a flourishing promotional strat- egy. It is the contentious practice of arranging for brand-name goods to make prominent, paid-for appearances in films, television pro- grams, and other entertainment productions. For example, in the film "Wall Street," actor Martin Sheen yelled to the waitress to "get this kid a Molson Light" in lieu of "get this kid a beer." Certainconsum- er-advocate groups are urging the FTC to ban this "subtle" form of advertising. Previous published research on product placement are scarce, and have mainly assessed its impact via brand recall rates. This study investigates the associations among moviegoers' pur- chase evaluations, brand recall pattern, and ethical judgments of the medium. Exit surveys of audience were conducted at a theater over different show times and days. The results indicated that product placement's successes have been overplayed. Also, current place- ments lacked "positioning" strategy. Managerial implications of the various findings were elaborated.

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