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More and more branded products are being filmed, from Barbie to video games. Can this work?
Films about branded products are very trendy in Hollywood at the moment – regardless of whether they are dolls, shoes or snacks. And not just since «Barbie».
The dividing line between feature film and commercial will be eliminated. Such branded product films are the ultimate product placement. In 2023 the cinemas will be full of them.
Legend:
A sneaker as film material: Ben Affleck plays Nike co-founder Phil Knight in «Air».
Warner Bros.
Hollywood star Ben Affleck filmed the creation of the Nike cult sneaker Air Jordan with «Air». At the beginning of the year, the creation of the “BlackBerry” was also a topic of the film, as was the computer game “Tetris”.
And Eva Longoria, known from “Desperate Housewives”, dealt with the snack Cheetos, which is very popular in the USA, in her directorial debut “Flamin’ Hot”.
Everything for the image
In terms of content, it is usually about an event from the past of the respective product. This makes it possible to mention the brand name often. In this respect, «Gran Turismo», which is now in cinemas, is typical of this new subgenre.
The film tells the true story of Brit Jann Mardenborough. In 2011, at the age of 19, he was the third and youngest winner of the so-called GT Academy. This was operated from 2008 to 2016 by the car manufacturer Nissan and Sony Playstation.
Legend:
“Gran Turismo” is based on his life story: The racing driver Jann Mardenborough. He drives to this day.
Imago/Motorsport
GT stands for Gran Turismo. The racing simulator series is one of the most successful Playstation games. The GT Academy was a mixture of image cultivation, a young talent program for real racing drivers and a TV show.
From the screen to the street
As a “Gran Turismo” player, Jann won a virtual race against 90,000 others and then spent months training at the Academy to become a real racing driver. He prevailed against competitors and drove national and international races for Nissan.
Legend:
Archie Madekwe (left) plays Jann Mardenborough. His coach is portrayed by David Harbor (who plays Sheriff Hopper on “Stranger Things”).
SonyPictures
The image film celebrates the companies and their products and packs the adulation into a sports film without depth or originality. The concept will probably still work and the fans of the eponymous game will flock to the cinema.
Which doesn’t mean that branded product films can’t be good. “Barbie” proves the opposite, because something was daring and worked with self-criticism and self-mockery.
Despondent nostalgia
The idea behind such films is ultimately the same as with well-known cinema series such as James Bond or Star Wars: the producers hope that people will flock to the cinema because they associate something with the name and the product triggers memories.
As with sequels and remakes, the goal is to reduce the risk of failure. The creators believe that cinema audiences are more likely to watch things they know or have heard of before.
Legend:
Pastel colored plastic world: “Barbie” is the most successful film adaptation of a branded product to date.
Warner Bros.
These films are often financed by the respective manufacturer, as with “Barbie” or “Gran Turismo”. The goal of the corporations: image gain and profit.
And the boom in branded product films continues.
“Barbie” was just the beginning
“Barbie” manufacturer Mattel is said to be planning to bring 13 more of its products to the screen.
Meanwhile, American comedian Jerry Seinfeld has finished filming the comedy “Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story” with Amy Schumer, Hugh Grant and Melissa McCarthy. It is about the cult pastry of the same name from the USA.
What’s next? A movie about cola? Maybe a RomCom. What could the title of the brown bubble water romance be? Maybe “Coke and Pepsi, the story of an impossible love.” The question is: which Hollywood stars are playing the cold drinks?