You're watching a movie, and for no apparent reason at all one of the characters pulls out a Pepsi and a snickers candy bar, both with their labels pointing straight at the camera. These may have absolutely nothing to do with the plot of the movie, but is becoming more and more common in television shows as well as movies. Product placement is becoming a given when it comes to film production. Most of the time it happens without many people even realizing it. Does this kind of product placement in movies and television shows take away from the film? Or is it perfectly fine for companies to pay for their product to be seen in films? I believe that product placement in today's films is becoming so overwhelming that it is taking focus away from the actual film, and something needs to be done to fix that.
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In today's film industry, there is a great shortage when it comes to money to produce films. Film corporations are becoming more and more desperate in order to find ways to get their film finished. This is where product placement comes into effect. There are a few ways, I believe, that these corporation can cut down the product placement in their movie and still be able to afford to produce it. Instead of having many products from different companies involved, just allow a fewer number of products to be advertised in the movie but charge more money. According to the Journal of Advertising Research, "if the movie is predicted to be popular, if film corporations were to limit the number of products in films, companies would easily be willing to pay more money to ensure their product is included" (Russell). This basically makes it an auction for the companies that want their product in the film. The highest "bidder " will have their product included. Another way to cut down the need for product placement in a movie is to find more investors for the film. This will put a larger role on the advertising part of the film corporation, but if done correctly then it should pay off.
