Music Video Product Placement

I just watched the MV of “On the Floor” the night before the Tuesday class and the product placement caught my attention.

The most obvious products, or in another words, the products that I really noticed are BMW and SWAROVSKI, which showed up in the beginning of the MV, when I was paying attention to what’s going on of the MV. The wine in 2:34 is relatively not obvious, or maybe it is because there is no close-up for it?

With over 47 millions views, I cannot deny that this is a efficient way to advertise. However, as a (not so good) marketing student, I cannot help to think “So, BMW is doing so as targeting on young, rich, party people? Then what will the original steady, older customers think about it?” Same as to SWAROVSKI.

With the close-up of the “water-drop” ear ring, I was looking forward to see it shake and shine with Jennifer dancing gorgeously, but I was disappointed, and this makes the product placement looks unnatural.

Another example is SONY in “Hold It Against Me” at around 2:40. I was totally emotionally interrupted by the close-up of the brand. My first reaction was “Ok, it’s SONY, so what can the brand help to express the meaning of the MV?” Then I realize that it is another abrupt product placement again. Apparently, no one wants to be like the wine in “On the Floor” hah!

There is a annual Spring Festival evening show in China, and in 2010, there were tons of product placements in it, and the audiences were strong discontent with that. As a result, the obviously product placements disappeared in 2011.

Therefore, without making the products blended into the atmosphere of the MV, I won’t call it a successful but just efficient way to do advertising.

(There is a comparison of MTV and VEVO visions. Are marketers indirectly generating profit from people who watch free video online?)