participation...

I was recently out to dinner at a little place called Simeons on the Commons when I started thinking about and noticing product placement. Have you ever noticed that in some restaurants they use glassware with brands printed on them? Simeons glasses had their label on one side and a Guiness label on the other side. In other restaurants, you'll notice Pepsi or Coke labels on glasses. Companies often send these glasses to establishments to help promote their brands. This also functions as a type of product placement. You are unwillingly exposed to the use of a product, but instead of seeing someone in a television program or movie using the product, you are using it. It's comparable to seeing Coke glasses on the table in front of the American Idol judges, but it's in front of you. I would describe this type of product placement as active participation product placement because of the interaction between you and the product.

I also noticed product placement this week while watching a video in my Ad Copy and Art Direction class. The video showed a behind the scenes look at putting together an advertising campaign for a Brazilian liquor. One of their techniques was to put real people, taken straight off the streets, in display windows with the bottles of liquor sitting at their tables as they sipped on mixed drinks made from the same liquor. Passers-by could easily gaze in the windows and observe this product placement or enter the "window bar" and enjoy a drink themselves. I think this idea of actively participating in product placement could do big things in the future for many products. More people are beginning to be able to spot typical product placements, and this may be a way to shake things up and keep consumers interested.
What do you think?