Mary-Lou Galician

The Evolution of Product Placements in Hollywood Cinema: Embedding High-Involvement "Heroic" Brand Images

Abstract This content analysis of the 15 top-grossing motion pictures of 1977, 1987, and 1997 uncovered 546 product placements present in fully one quarter (24%) of the total running time of the 45 movies. Product leaders were automobiles (21% of all placements), beer (14%), and soda (11%), with Coca-Cola the overall brand leader. Full-display appearances remained dominant throughout. Most appearances were brief; however, “key” placements-lengthier showcases featuring brands in central heroic roles and in idealized images resembling TV commercials-increased over the 20-year period. Other related notable changes were increases in high-involvement placements (89%), implied endorsement placements (83%) (coupled with a 9% rise in “verbal/hands mentions,” the most valued placement), and “mentioned” placements (75%) (similarly coupled with a 9% rise in “used” placements), and the number of brands placed (32%) along with decreases in liquor placements (60%), association with minor characters (40%) and non-stars (36%), and both “signage” (24%) and “clutter” (20%) placements, the least valued.

Introduction: High Time for “Dis-illusioning” Ourselves and Our Media: Media Literacy in the 21st Century, Part II: Strategies for the General Public

In 2000, more votes were cast for the candidates for “American Idol” than for the candidates for U.S. president. Many nonvoters in the political arena said they could not see a difference between the presidential candidates. Once again, despite our greatly polarized political sphere in this 2004 election year, we are hearing that excuse again. It is daunting, though not surprising: Political campaign messages from all sides are fraught with outright lies, and political media coverage is focused on the trivial and the contest. As we seek information to make the most important decisions for a democracy, we should be asking “Where’s the beef?” Our entertainment and advertising media likewise need far closer scrutiny— but not from the simplistic framework from which public outcries and related investigations generally proceed. Celebrity culture engulfs us, and “reality” shows lack reality. Parents naively believe that they can “always trust Disney.” Adults mistakenly think that media literacy education is “just for kids.” And too many U.S. citizen-consumers of media—print and electronic—erroneously assume that mere use of media constitutes media literacy. The Alliance for a Media Literate America (2004) has declared, “Being literate in a media age requires critical thinking skills, which empower us as we make decisions, whether in the classroom, the living room, the workplace, the