Stephen Colbert takes the Black Eyed Peas to task for not having enough products placed in I Gotta Feeling.

will.i.am – One More Chance

In what could only be considered an exaggerated response to the placement/integration of the Blackberry brand and products in will.i.am’s One More Chance music video, Charles Moran states that he’s "not pleased":

"While cellphone placements in music videos are really nothing to blog about these days, it’s not often that we get an example that’s quite as meta as this one. Or as lazy, ham-handed or obvious."

I expected something horrible when I went to to see the video but it’s just not that bad, holmes.  And it’s at least as good as most of what I see scouting for VidRap.  For that matter, it’s not exceptionally "meta" at this point in time.

One of the problems is that folks who should know better want pop stars to be or pretend to be authentic.  Moran thinks that:

"for an integration to work, it needs to feel organic and effortless, as if the (in this case) musician was a fan of the product and might have put it in his or her video regardless of the money."

So we can all play pretend?

I actually think the video has a decent concept and doesn’t detract from the song.  Maybe it looks bad on tv?  I wouldn’t know.  I don’t do a lot with outmoded media platforms.

But it does make me wonder how often video treatments are now being pitched that are designed to include such placements from the beginning whether or not a sponsor is already in place.

Article via Miraflor.

Update:
Blender blogger Ryan Dombal also thinks it’s “over-the-top“.

SELL OUT with Sprint: "Tell Your Peeps It’s Showtime!"

Sprint’s SELL OUT campaign for the Samsung Instinct phone is off to a nice start with the above video encouraging folks to invade their precious home movies with a blatant product placement.  Leveraging people’s deepest concerns to create a humorous ad looks so simple when it’s done well but is so hard to do.

US & UK Television:

TV network product placement is facing some disclosure challenges from the FCC but has become a deeply embedded process.

Product placement has even come to tv news.

Long banned in the UK, product placement on tv is being considered for certain formats, though UK stations already run US shows with product placements.

Research & Measurement

Measuring the effectiveness of product placements is a growing concern and research firms such as Nielsen are establishing the groundwork for a lucrative position in the industry.

Kudos to Hip Hop!

Though none of these examples are hip hop specific, hip hop artists and business people can be proud of their role in helping create a positive consumer response to having brands inserted in each and every available opening.

Iron Man and Audi R8 Ad/Trailer

Iron Man isn’t really a hip hop movie per se but it does include an appearance by Ghostface, plus, Iron Man’s cool!

Audi hopes to absorb some of that coolness with a campaign built around Audi’s placements in Iron Man.

Audi’s publicists break down the deep connections:

"In the film, Tony Stark begins to secretly build the incredible Iron Man suit in his garage workshop…the billionaire technophile has his Audi R8 parked nearby which fits Stark’s Super Hero guise very well: The slits through which Iron Man views the world resemble the all-LED headlamps on the R8; Stark’s artificial heart with its ring of lights recalls the sports car’s exposed mid-engine and his immensely tough armor is matched by the Audi Space Frame, the high-strength aluminum structure on which this hi-tech automobile is built. The film’s hero along with his favored mode of transport both underscore Audi’s famous technical leadership claim: ‘Vorsprung durch Technik.’"

The Audi: Iron Man microsite builds on this relationship in a number of ways, most noticeably in the short videos that include Iron Man trailers such as the above that have been out at least a month or so.  The microsite has a number of interesting elements:

"A notable feature of the visual elements is that they were produced especially for Audi and are made up of original scenes from the film. "One Man. One Machine. One Mission." is the slogan alongside the micro-site. On its complex home page the user can pay a virtual visit to Tony Stark’s top-secret workshop. Two perspectives are available: Through the eyes of Tony Stark, exclusive footage and background information on the movie can be called up and viewed. Alternatively the special "Iron Man Vision" HUD (Head Up Display) can be used, for instance to explore the design details of the Audi R8 and A5."

If you hate product placement then welcome to integration hell!

From what I’ve seen Audi’s actually done a nice job of tying the two together and developing a microsite that builds on that concept in an entertaining manner.  And the trailers really make the point quite clearly.

Too bad Audi dropped its previous Technology That Amazes slogan for its current Advancement Through Technology.  That would have fit Iron Man very well.

It would be nice to see some t-shirts with the old Audi slogan tied in to the movie in a way that ackowledges the retro nature of the Iron Man comic itself.

Though the focus is on the Audi R8 driven by lead character Tony Starks aka Iron Man, Virginia "Pepper" Potts, the lead female character, drives an Audi S5.

Iron Man opens May 2nd.

The Pack f/Eddie Rap Life & Terry Kennedy [production: Travis Barker]
– Swear They Do

I don’t know the backstory on this song but The Pack’s Swear They Do video above features Famous Stars and Straps clothing and possible skate team members or the like in addition to The Pack, guest artists and Travis Barker.

Given that The Pack initially caught the public’s eye with Got My Vans On, they’re building an impressive early history of product placement, paid or not.

KEF MUON Speakers by Ross Lovegrove (Photo: Business Wire)

Pharrell’s blog breaks down the Billionaire Boys Club / Ice Cream placements in Jay-Z’s Blue Magic video:

PHARRELL…Ice Cream Denim Jacket featuring the Swarovski Crystals Monster Popsicle Logo (only 50 made), The Red “B” New Era Hat, the leather and vinyl Diamonds & Dollars jacket coming out this November as well as a few sneak peak items from Season 6.

TEYANA…Star Trak New Era and a BBC Track Jacket top available soon.

JAY-Z…Billionaire Boys Club Gears & Gauges Logo T-shirt.

KEF’s press release announces the appearance of their MUON loudspeakers:

Esquire magazine’s newest project, dubbed the "Ultimate Bachelor Pad," is a triplex penthouse apartment in the heart of New York City’s up and coming Central Park North luxury district. Hip-Hop artist and Def Jam Recordings CEO Jay-Z filmed his latest video, "Blue Magic," at the apartment, where a stylish pair of MUON loudspeakers was featured.

Esquire North: The New View was one of the locations for the video and it’s the fifth of a series of "showcases for sophisticated living" that create the context for Esquire’s "ultimate bachelor pad" marketing program:

The apartment includes a Versace living room designed by Campion Platt, a Louis Vuitton master bedroom by Christopher Maya, a Hugo Boss media room by Dean Maltz, a Bally library by Barclay Butera, a Lufthansa home office by Ildiko Sragli, a Kenneth Cole and Intel gaming room by Comma, a Westin upper terrace with outdoor fireplace by Clodagh, and a Rockport lower terrace by Robin Wilson, replete with a shoe-shaped putting green.

Other marketing partners in the apartment include Bloomberg, Acura, Hennessy, The Macallan, Moët & Chandon, Dell and Jaguar, among others. While Esquire foots the bill for putting the project together, the scale of a brand’s exposure in the apartment is related to its advertising investments in the magazine.

I just checked out the video again to see if the speakers appeared which they do in passing towards the end. 

That video is so crammed full of stuff when you look in terms of products and logos, from the cars and marquees to the art and clothing to the apartment, that it would generate a pretty long list, especially if you include the additional product appearances in the lyrics.

I really thought the Euros were the coolest "product" to appear in the video and, as previously mentioned, I was quite disappointed to see the product placement for Armand de Brignac champagne.

Master P and Romeo are promoting the Sidekick LX with a song called Sidekick on their upcoming album Hip Hop History.  A video is expected soon.

Listen here.

I guess I haven’t succumbed totally to cynicism as I find this development rather disturbing though it also seems completely inevitable.

Via Co-branded.