Brand Placement

Businesses strategically place their brands and products in movies or in TV series to subtly get consumers to notice their brands, this is called brand placement. Two products which I have noticed in movies are Apple iMacs in the Twilight movie Breaking Dawn Part 1 (2011) and Manolo Blahnik shoes in the Sex and the City Movie (2008). These were both big blockbuster hits which many people viewed and obsessed over. They both star very famous celebrities who play desirable characters. In the movies both the brands are clearly shown with the characters so the viewer will relate who the character is with the brand to give the brand symbolism (Levy, 1959).
In Sex and the City we first see the Manolo Blahnik heels when the main character Carrie Bradshaw is shown her new wardrobe which will soon be filled with her clothes that are envied by viewers. The scene is romantic and everything is perfect in Carrie’s world which suggests that the consumer would be in a similar situation if they had theses shoes. The label on the box is clearly shown as Carrie carefully puts her prized possession on the shelf. The shoes appear at the end of the movie during a special scene where Carrie is being proposed to, the heel is used to close the deal of the proposal. This once again incorporates the shoe with happiness and romance. Sex and the city has been a popular TV series (1998 - 2004) so there was a huge hype when the movie was released. Carrie Bradshaw is a well known character for her glamorous life; Carrie is an icon for fashion and high class. We straight away draw a connection with any brand associated with Carrie Bradshaw to being an ultimate luxury brand, and as a viewer I desire to own the brands shown in the movie to make myself appear more glamorous.
The Sex and the City’s target audience are females over 16 years. It has an emphasis on relationships and high fashion. I aspire to be like Carrie and her friends as they were independent and bring out ideas of their own