Selling Movies - Wasting potential

"Potential what?" I hear you ask...well I'll type my thoughts out and let you answer that yourselves :)

Recently I noticed something...it seems most places you go, no matter really where you are there's always someone trying to sell you a movie. What am I talking about? The advertising for the movie Bridesmaids.

It's everywhere, it's available on DVD and Blu Ray, Movies on Demand (PayTV), as well as download for rent or to own. Supermarkets are trying to sell it, department stores, internet stores, video libraries...you get junk mail where the cover of it alone takes up about 1/3 of the page, it's sponsored on websites like YouTube and the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) and I bet it's been promoted on social network sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Considering the movie costs typically about $20 at most of the places selling it I believe everyone actively promoting it are running a significant risk seeing as how competitors doing exactly the same thing they are.

I doubt I'll ever buy that particular movie, if I do chances are someone will show it to me, or I'll rent it... preferably when it gets cheaper to rent seeing how I'm not running out to see it. This means all the promotions and advertising was wasted on me, buy a lot of different businesses.

The philosophy behind advertising and persuading a consumer aside...

What I don't like is the grade of film that has this financial risk associated to it. Discs, cases, covers, posters, junk mail (printed catalogs - paper, ink, graphical designers, printers, delivers), transporting and someone putting them up for display/sale...all for the price of $20. How many people do they expect to buy it for $20 before copies end up in bargain bins for $5 a pop?

I can envision that this movie also has some product placement, which I have written about previously about a somewhat similar production The 40 Year Old Virgin

The budget for the project has been estimated at $32.5 million (IMDB) and has generated $281 million worldwide as of September 4 2011 (IMDB).

I can't help but think of how that money could have been spent, and the time and effort people put into it from the beginning the the end of production, distribution and sale.

Product Placement in Movies

So it seems Morgan Spurlock (of 'Supersize Me' fame) has come out with a new documentary entitled "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" which focuses on product placement, marketing and advertising in movies. 


This got me thinking...and re-watching an comedy favorite of mine - The 40 year old virgin.


I have watched this movie and come to find that well...Come to your own conclusions...

Televisions on store floor - Panasonic

Boxes in back dock (?) area - Panasonic (and GE Lighting)

Hey look, the customer bought a Panasonic...

The television in Andy's bedroom? Well for a store that obviously only sells Panasonic why have anything else?

Demonstrating Televisions...More specifically, Panasonic TV's with Panasonic promos

TV in Andy's Lounge Room? One guess

Way to sell a big screen TV...well, Pansonic's seem to sell themselves.

Fun fact, my Television is a Panasonic VIERA


There were other brands that seemed conveniently located, too many to go into right now but here are a few more of a Particular product/brand:

One thing I did consider was how difficult it would be to make a movie these days WITHOUT inadvertently/being able to avoid having sloganized products on screen - In fact it might even seem foreign and obvious that 'something wasn't right'


Well, thanks for viewing :)