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Tuesday, February 22, 2011, 02:30 pm
Apple products appeared in 30% of all top movies in 2010
Apple product placements appeared 30 percent of the top films of 2010, more than any other brand, including Nike, Chevrolet and Ford, which all tied for second place with placement in 24 percent of the top movies.Placement of Apple's Macs, iPhones and iPods and other products in films resulted in the company being cited for the "2010 Award for Overall Product Placement" by Brandcameo.
Arranging to put its products in conspicuous sight in films is nothing new for the company, which has maintained the top spot among brands over the past decade, with cameos in 112 of the top 334 most popular movies in America since 2001.
Macs have conspicuously shown up in films ranging from StarTrek IV, where character Montgomery Scott goes back in time to 1986 and uses a Macintosh Plus to show engineers how to build transparent aluminum, to Independence Day in 1996, where a PowerBook is used to upload a lethal virus into the system of attacking aliens.
Apple has also prominently placed its products in other mediums, including TV shows such as the set of the long running Seinfield series, where Jerry Seinfeld's Macintosh evolved in the background throughout the 90s.
The report by BrandChannel noted that Apple's placements have scaled down over the last two years however, but not because Apple is giving up on placements. Instead, the report noted, "other brands are taking a page from its playbook and aping Apple's product placement strategy. Films that previously would have been dominated by Apples are now filled with HP, Dell and Sony Vaio logos."
It added that Sony Pictures has worked to rid its movies of any Apple logos, substituting its own Sony Vaio products instead. It also noted that some films have depicted Apple's products even when they were under contract to promote another brand, such as "Sex in the City 2," which depicted both a MacBook and iPhone despite the film's sponsorship deal with HP.
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Previous Comments View All
I also notice that a lot Characters from TV shows have iPhones. Ben from SouthLAnd has an iPhone 4, Joe from Men of a Certain Age has an iPhone, Karen from Californication has an iPhone as well. A few Android devices but more iPhones.
Apple has stated in the past that it doesn't pay for product placement. Not sure how they do it, exactly. I've noticed many TV shows now use Apple products but cover the logos (The Mentalist is a good example). Presumably they use Apple products because they look better and cover the logos because they're being sponsored by a competitor.
Whenever I see a mac in a movie, I always point it out to my GF! I know, pretty annoying, but she's annoying too. Always walking around the house in her underwear! Oh well, that's part of being in a relationship....putting up with each other's annoying habits, I guess!
Best
Apple has stated in the past that it doesn't pay for product placement. Not sure how they do it, exactly. I've noticed many TV shows now use Apple products but cover the logos (The Mentalist is a good example). Presumably they use Apple products because they look better and cover the logos because they're being sponsored by a competitor.
Yeah, I've noticed the covered logo a lot. Trouble is, at least for me, you really can't disguise the general look of Apple laptops or iMacs. I don't know if the general public see this as well.
One of my kids used to watch iCarly, a show about a couple of teenagers who produced podcasts or videocasts at home - all the equipment was Apple and either iMovie or FCP.
Whenever I see a mac in a movie, I always point it out to my GF! I know, pretty annoying, but she's annoying too. Always walking around the house in her underwear! Oh well, that's part of being in a relationship....putting up with each other's annoying habits, I guess!
TMI, Christopher.
Anyone else notice the Mac in 'The Social Network' was the lone computer that got smashed? Conspiracy!
TMI, Christopher.
Yeah, you're right, Ecphorizer. Sorry.
Does this include movies and TV shows where the Apple logo is clearly masked off with tape or a sticker, but it's still obvious that it's a MacBook or iMac? 
How can it be a "top movie" without Apple in it? The King's Speech was certainly not a top movie.
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Happy investor here... as long as the placement is subtle, I think it's effective.
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It's hard to quantify but, whether we like it or not, there's no doubt that there's a "cool-factor" at play with Apple products. People and businesses want to be seen with them with or without product placement deals. When I see Alienware in movies I think
The worry is how to keep that cool factor as the products become saturated in the market. Yes, I know, iPods. But the reality is that Apple's market share is still very low so they still have a bit of a niche feel, I think.
In the future, my worry as an investor won't just be "the next big thing" from the competition, but also how their marketing can keep rockin'