Stealth Marketing in Movies
The Oscars, as much a reminder of how talented certain people are, also points to storytelling that is biased ( listen to this talk by Evan Sayet), and in many cases rejected by the average cine goer.But in certain ways, movies are useful to Marketers. Take the case of novelist Bill Fitzhugh, who became one of the first known authors to incorporate a product placement into a work of fiction. He'd sold the film rights to his 2000 book Cross Dressing to Universal Studios, which at the time was owned by distilling giant Seagrams.
He struck a deal to replace generic references to liquor in a bar scene with flattering references to seagrams spirits, and says he was rewarded with an ample supply of liquor. But here's the twist : Fitzhugh wasn't really interested in helping Seagrams sell liquor. He struck the deal because he knew that when his book came out, he could market its product-placement deal as unique, if lamentable, literary landmark.
In other words, by generating hand-wringing stories in Brill's Content, Publisher's Weekly, Time and Entertainment Weekly, Fitzhugh wasn't selling liquor as much as selling books.
Now that's stealth.
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