Product placement in MSCL?

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pinkchimney
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Product placement in MSCL?

Post by pinkchimney » Dec 3rd 2002, 3:46 pm

I noticed that MSCL, unlike many shows today (i.e. Dawson's Creek), never really used product placement. I think the most noticeable product in MSCL with a logo was the Jansport bookbag. I clearly remember the first three seasons of Dawson's Creek being sponsored by, and the clothes worn by the cast all being J.Crew then Tommy Hilfiger, and then American Eagle.

And also the music placement. MSCL seems like songs were picked specifically for certain shots/scenes. In all of the WB shows you see credits for albums/dare I say "artists" at the end.

Can anyone add to this?

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Re: Product placement in MSCL?

Post by Natasha (candygirl) » Dec 3rd 2002, 4:10 pm

pinkchimney wrote:I think the most noticeable product in MSCL with a logo was the Jansport bookbag.
And I'm pretty sure that was more of a realistic prop than product placement. The funny thing is that my Italian teacher was telling us how Europeans look for certain things to identify what country people are from. #1 way to recognize an American teenager/college student visiting Europe: Jansport backpack.

I know I read somewhere that Buffy's producers have made a conscious effort not to do the music ads at the end of each episode (although I read this BEFORE they Aimee Mann appearance which had a huge full screen ad at the end of the show). Sometimes when the musicians appear at the Bronze, they are identified by the characters (Cibo Matto) but more often than not they are not (Michelle Branch). I think they are trying to avoid that 90210 Peach Pit guest star kind of vibe. The absence of music placement ads at the end of the show sometimes vexes fans who want to know "Omigawd what was that really good song?" (for example, the Bush song that was used last season) so there are some websites devoted to listing what music was used in the episodes.

I think that MSCL managed to avoid that (especially in the earlier episodes) by using well-known music. REM's "Everybody Hurts" was unavoidable in the year preceding the pilot, and the "I Touch Myself" video was everywhere a few years earlier. TLC, Enigma, the Cranberries - all mainstream artists, and MSCL used their well-known songs so that listing the titles at the end was unnecessary. I'm going to show how old I am here, but no one needed to tell me who sang "Blister in the Sun" or "I Wanna Be Sedated" because even people who weren't Ramones fans at my high school knew that song (even if it was the only Ramones song they knew).

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Re: Product placement in MSCL?

Post by sine » Dec 3rd 2002, 5:08 pm

pinkchimney wrote:I noticed that MSCL, unlike many shows today (i.e. Dawson's Creek), never really used product placement. I think the most noticeable product in MSCL with a logo was the Jansport bookbag.
[...]
Can anyone add to this?
Well, I don't know if this counts as product placement, but: what was the make of computers used in the episodes? Was this detail consistent from episode to episode? Now that I think of it, there wasn't that many scenes involving/featuring computers; the only one I can remember is the one in computer class with Angela and Brian in it ("Guns and gossip"). Did anyone of the characters have computers at home?

And am I happy that the show was made before the mobile phone boom hit. ;) It saved us from a lot of product placement, I think.
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Post by Natasha (candygirl) » Dec 3rd 2002, 5:14 pm

I think the fact that neither you nor I can remember what kind of computers they used indicates that there was a lack of product placement in that area as well. I would guess some kind of Mac since that's what lots of schools use, but I could be wrong.

I thought it was interesting that when characters on MSCL referred to their computer class, they called it "computer" as in "I'm going to computer" (as opposed to "computers" plural which is what I called my class). Maybe I'm the weird one.

I don't remember seeing any of the characters having computers in their rooms (although it's possible that Brian had one in his room and I wasn't paying attention).

Cell phone placement - this might be because I don't watch a lot of tv anymore, but are there any shows that are really tacky about that kind of product placement? This is the first season on Buffy that they have had cell phones (almost unnatural and unrealistic that they held out this long, but then again Xander is the only one who can legally drive - Spike being dead and all) and I haven't noticed what kind they actually have. They don't use them a lot on Buffy either.

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Post by K-man » Dec 3rd 2002, 5:25 pm

Product palcement is annoying, but to follow Candygirl's comment, I find it a big help when a show has a song I like and I can learn the artist/title/album at the end. Then I can go an steal it off the net. Errrrrr.... I mean procure that musicians work :wink: .
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Post by Natasha (candygirl) » Dec 3rd 2002, 5:36 pm

I mean go to a listening station at Virgin MegaStore and then buy their entire collection at full price (min. $17.98 )!

Me too.

:D

I hate when they do half-assed music ads at the end of the shows - you know, just show the cover of albums while ONE song plays. Damn, which one was it? And who sang it? And what was it called? Am I supposed to go to the record store and say I'm looking for something with a blue cover but I don't know who?

:?

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Post by hurtstolookatyou » Dec 3rd 2002, 6:13 pm

i think mscl was on before rampant product placement in tv shows took place.

one of the earliest product placements that i remember was the whole felicity "mac vs pc" debate.

product placement has kind of evolved to become more blatantly obvious, like in Survivor, winning a Aztec car or a Mountain Dew picnic etc...

and mscl did engage in some musical guests too, with buffalo tom and juliana hatfield.

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Post by pinkchimney » Dec 3rd 2002, 6:37 pm

I don't know, maybe it's just me. I think the music ads at the end of show now are weak (in an Eric Cartman sounding voice). I think stating that " a list of music used in the the show can be found at http://www.Insert-show-here.com" In fact I think "24" did that last year. Which makes sense to me.

As for the Juliana Hatfield/ Buffalo Tom thing, would it sound bias if I said it had no effect on me? This year on Dawson's Creek, No Doubt and Jack Osbourne guest starred. Both seemed self-promoting. To me, MSCL using Buff tom seemed more of an extra. Kinda like 'hey, we are using their song. Why not try to get the band." But who knows, I may just be naive in thinking that.

Also, MSCL could have easily used a burger super-giant like McD's or Burger King in the "Life of Brian" episode. Instead they used a fictional store like Big Guy Burger.

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Post by fnordboy » Dec 3rd 2002, 6:46 pm

pinkchimney wrote:As for the Juliana Hatfield/ Buffalo Tom thing, would it sound bias if I said it had no effect on me? This year on Dawson's Creek, No Doubt and Jack Osbourne guest starred. Both seemed self-promoting. To me, MSCL using Buff tom seemed more of an extra. Kinda like 'hey, we are using their song. Why not try to get the band." But who knows, I may just be naive in thinking that.
Well Buffalo Tom were always fairly well known on the indie scene, and i never took them as the type of band who would go out of their way to promote themselves or sell themselves, so i actually never really took it that way at all.

Juliana Hatfield, i think i did take it that she was promoting herself. I mean this was fairly early on in her solo career and on the indie scene she was known for being in the Blake Babies but not really much else, IIRC. And she was starting to get pretty mainstream airplay on mtv and whatnot around this time. She was definitely a staple of 120 mins then.

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Post by Bubba » Dec 3rd 2002, 6:48 pm

In general, I chafe at product placement within a TV show or movie: I particularly hate the placement of digital ads on the wall behind the batter in baseball games - and, now, digital ads on the playing fields during college football games. And movies are worse: I pay upwards of ten bucks, wait through the slide show of advertisements, watch the commericals for Coke and Mountain Dew, and see five or six commercials for other movies, just to see egregious product placement in Spider-Man. Why, again, did I pay ten bucks for a ticket?

I will make the occasional concession in terms of music and musicians within a program, for one very important reason: sometimes, it fits. "Everybody Hurts" and Jewel's "Absence of Fear" in the pilots for MSCL and Once & Again genuinely fit the moment. And I thought Juliana Hatfield and Buffalo Tom's presence added to the show rather than took away from it.

But, more often than not, a movie or a show goes too far. The most recent, egregious example was the WB's Birds of Prey, ending with Michelle Branch's "If You Wanted."

<gag>

I mean, we're pulling away from the three heroines in an action show (very) loosely based on the Batman universe, and they play a middle-of-the-road rock ballad love song? Puh-lease!

Business-wise, it makes sense: AOL-Time-Warner owns the WB network, DC Comics from whence Birds of Prey is derived, and Maverick Records - Michelle Branch's label. So, they put her most recent single up to get it a little more exposure because, God knows, VH1 didn't play that song into the ground.

But, regardless of what sort of sense it made, business-wise, it hurt the art, such as it was. A bad, bad decision on their parts.
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Post by fnordboy » Dec 3rd 2002, 7:00 pm

Bubba wrote: But, regardless of what sort of sense it made, business-wise, it hurt the art, such as it was. A bad, bad decision on their parts.
See that is the problem though. It isn't a bad decision. That works. It may not work for the jaded bastards that we all seem to be. But for the core audience of that show (impressionable teens) it works.

I can't explain it. I don't know why it does when you can hear a song like that all day long from driving in your car, to shopping, to commercials, to tv shows, etc. Is it just a slow brainwashing?

Until people wake up and realize, there is nothing that can be done. Sadly.

But now ya know why i dont go to the movie theater. :D

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Post by Natasha (candygirl) » Dec 3rd 2002, 7:58 pm

hurtstolookatyou wrote:i think mscl was on before rampant product placement in tv shows took place.

one of the earliest product placements that i remember was the whole felicity "mac vs pc" debate.

product placement has kind of evolved to become more blatantly obvious, like in Survivor, winning a Aztec car or a Mountain Dew picnic etc...

and mscl did engage in some musical guests too, with buffalo tom and juliana hatfield.
I think that we should remember the difference between product placement (like Michael J. Fox drinking Pepsi in Back to the Future) and actual sponsorship. Why did the Marriott in San Diego have Dodge minivans parked all over their pool area for a week in December? Because they sponsored the Holiday Bowl. Why was every freaking car in this season's premiere of 24 a Ford? Because Ford sponsored the "commercial-free" episode. See the difference? Then again, even product placement has become much more "in your face" and I'm not sure what the damn difference is anymore.

Some guy wrote his thesis on product placement - you can see a sample product placement contract here: http://advertising.utexas.edu/research/ ... tract.html

As far as musical guests go, I think it depends on the situation. When they go the 90210 route (meaning they are there for the sake of being there - COLOR ME BADD, I'M TALKING TO YOU!), ugh. When the song fits the story and the singer/musical group isn't making their first abortive stab at "transitioning to acting" then okay. The main difference is that 90210 seemed to have musical guests to justify why they kept bringing up storylines about the Peach Pit After Dark (or on Dawson's Creek having an entire episode devoted to going to the No Doubt concert and the wackiness than ensues), while Buffy has musical guests at the Bronze but there is still some sort of plot going on that does NOT revolve around the musical guest (Michelle Branch singing "Goodbye to You" at the end of Tabula Rasa last season).

Yes, music on tv shows is intended to generate album sales, but I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing because it gives artists another type of exposure beyond TRL (for the attractive ones) or morning show radio interviews. In general, soundtracks are now as much a part of tv shows as they are in movies. Think back to the 70s. We're talking before Grease or Saturday Night Fever. Most movies released instrumental soundtracks (Godfather) if at all. Top Gun was one of the first nonmusical movies that had a soundtrack with more than one song on the charts (and now can you think of Titanic without hearing that unending Celine Deion song that was played incessantly for what seemed like years?). It was only a matter of time before soundtracks became part of television too.

For example, in the thread where we discussed the Wonder Years, as soon as someone mentioned the episode where Winnie broke her leg, I immediately thought "We've Got Tonight." Family Ties? "At This Moment." Any NBC show in the past two years having a Very Special Episode? Enya's "Only Time."

Like I said, I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing because how many people would have known about Billy Vera without Family Ties? Who knew about Edwin McCain before "I'll Be" was used on Dawson's Creek? There were some people in the know who were fans, but now there are literally millions more people who know who they are now. A lot of great bands who don't have the money for extensive marketing get a new audience through soundtracks and as a result people buy their albums and their songs get played on the radio.

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Post by Natasha (candygirl) » Jan 20th 2003, 4:32 am

I think that for the most part, there is very specific product NON-placement in MSCL. Even when Rayanne is drinking beer (at Angela's, at Brian's, etc) or carrying liters of soda, etc. the labels are not visible. Although I assumed that Patty has Ben & Jerry's ice cream, I don't think we actually see the brand name. When we DO see labels, they are made up (such as the Cameron Castle bottle of alcohol that Rayanne drinks in the pilot). I believe that this is a deliberate effort from BF to reinforce the "anytown" feel. Of course now that we have the DVDs and we can do frame by frame, all of this is up for debate! :D
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Post by Megs » Jan 20th 2003, 1:03 pm

The can of beer Rickie is caught with (that really is Rayanne's) is MGD. My husband's favorite.

If they really wanted to capture PA, they should have had them drinking Yuengling, made in my hometown. :lol:
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Post by missmarmalade » Jan 20th 2003, 6:42 pm

I know I'm not adding much to this discussion, but I wanted to say that the Jansport placement (if intentional) was successfull...I remembered that brand after seeing the episode and hunted for that brand of backpack (and color) for quite a long time (I was 15 and impressionable, sue me! :wink: )

On the Dawson's Creek note: they even have a website devoted to the songs that are played during the show (http://www.dawsonscreekmusic.com)...smart idea to get the artists publicity, but at the same time, does anyone agree that it creates a sort of frenzy over any remotely cool song that is played in an episode, and kind of ruins it? Norah Jones for example...I first heard her on an ep. of Dawson's Creek (it was one of my weaker moments) and now she's all that and a box of crackers! Same goes for Paula Cole who was riled into allowing "I don't want to wait" to be used as the theme song...I used to enjoy the song before it was used on DC, but now it's lost it's allure for me!

Just my 2 cents!

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