Audi's head of product placement lifts the veil on how and why cars show up in films.
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Here’s why Tony Stark drove an Audi in the Avengers movie
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autoteleology
Ars Centurion
Image caption:
"Mercedes-Benz's relationship with the Jurassic Park franchise started with the second movie, and it's a relationship that continues today. The new G-Class appeared in Jurassic World."
This is very ironic considering the iconic Jurassic Park vehicle is the Jeep Wrangler/Ford Explorer from the first movie. It seems like throwing a bunch of money at something just to stand in a shadow. Day late, dollar short, Mercedes-Benz.
"Mercedes-Benz's relationship with the Jurassic Park franchise started with the second movie, and it's a relationship that continues today. The new G-Class appeared in Jurassic World."
This is very ironic considering the iconic Jurassic Park vehicle is the Jeep Wrangler/Ford Explorer from the first movie. It seems like throwing a bunch of money at something just to stand in a shadow. Day late, dollar short, Mercedes-Benz.
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It's called money? I think?
I could be wrong. It's the reason anything happens anywhere, for the most part.
I could be wrong. It's the reason anything happens anywhere, for the most part.
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Title seems a bit misleading
"Here’s why Tony Stark drove an Audi in the Avengers movie"
I never saw an answer
CTRL+F for Avengers or Stark produces no results. I guess its up to the reader to decide
"Here’s why Tony Stark drove an Audi in the Avengers movie"
I never saw an answer
CTRL+F for Avengers or Stark produces no results. I guess its up to the reader to decide
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I got a lot of people calling out Iron Man at stop lights, because I drive an Audi A5, after the movie came out.
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Apple used to do a lot of product placement too. In the 90s, PowerBooks saved the world from aliens and Sandra bullock’s life!! Oddly they sometimes involved viruses which Apple has previously advertised Macs don’t get.
When done “right” product placement is ok. It’s just rarely done right enough to not take you out of the moment.
When done “right” product placement is ok. It’s just rarely done right enough to not take you out of the moment.
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It's bad enough that my local cinema runs three or four car adverts before the movie, having car adverts in the movies is particularly grating.
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I am definitely going to recommend you tie an onion to your belt, which was the style at the time. Keep a nickel on you, because for sure you will need to take a ferry. Etc.
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"the last truly good car chase movie" Really?
Never saw "Mad Max: Fury Road" didja? Almost the entire nominated-for-best-Oscar film was an epic, jaw-dropping car chase with practical--not CGI--effects.
Never saw "Mad Max: Fury Road" didja? Almost the entire nominated-for-best-Oscar film was an epic, jaw-dropping car chase with practical--not CGI--effects.
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Did Tony Stark buy an e-tron and replace the electric motors with a gas engine?
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I hate being super cynical like this but it seems to me most things in capitalism are advertisements.
A lot of people, including me, ask if we're living in idiocracy yet. Fact of the matter is we probably are already.
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Remember Clive Owen in the free "series" The Hire? Now that's how you do product placement for cars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hire
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Dude, don't make us have to choose between Ronin and Fury Road. It ain't right.
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The irony goes deeper than that, because in the book, the park was built by Japanese investors, and the park vehicles were Toyotas.
The movie changed this to Jeeps and (custom electric rail) Ford Explorers.
Chrichton wrote a sequel in which the vehicles were a (custom electric battery) Ford Explorer and a Jeep.
The sequel movie changed this to Mercedes SUVs.
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Wait, they were Toyotas in the book? I will fix the text now.
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I agree, but there's no advertising money from manufacturers for product placement when you take their car, trick it out like it was 5 feet from Ground Zero, went to Hell and came back a mechanical spawn of Satan.
I mean, I'd get one just for pre-COVID-19 traffic because then I wouldn't have to stop for traffic jams, but that's ALSO not the kind of advertising manufacturers want.
Remember, this isn't about the cars, it's about making advertising money by putting manufacturer's offerings in front of an audience.
Monster Garage, or Mercedes?
Depends on my mood, I guess...
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Been a while, but I don't think the book specified. I could easily be wrong.
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I don't get it. Stark built fusion power plants and used them for everything. Why would he want a gas burner? (Did the joke go over my head?)
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If this was native advertising would the opening paragraph be about how jarring product placement is and how it always ruins suspension of disbelief?
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I was kind of sad seeing him with that lame ride. Why not something with more flair, like a LaFerrari Aperta?
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That wasn't product placement. That was flat out advertising, seeing they were created by BMW Films.
And "Star" starring Madonna was the best - a good rapport with the director as he was her (then) husband Guy Ritchie...
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Apple doesn't do product placement per se, in that they don't pay for their products to be added to films. What they do though is make it damned easy to get loaners of lots of tech gear, and just put conditions on their use. When lots of film work takes place on Macs anyway, a handout of a big pile of them is really convenient... which helps keep Apple in film maker's minds.
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I get the impression OP meant the films, not the article.
There was another post about it, but I don't think it was the one quoted
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Perhaps I missed a nuance, but the whole thing was about how Audi got its products into films, yes?
They don't necessarily demand exclusive screen time, but they do want them showing up and being seen in these films, otherwise they wouldn't be working to get them into these films.
It may not be egregious product placement that happens from time to time (the most overt one I ever saw was in the TV show Eureka, and involved a lot more than just cars), but the whole article describes how Audi works to get its products/brand into videos and movies. So, by MY interpretation, at least, this is still about product placement and/or company advertising.
They're just not being asshats about how much screen time their stuff gets.
It's a kinder, gentler product placement, but it's still branding in movies for money and recognition.
At least that's how I parsed it. If there's a different term for what Audi does, I haven't heard it, and it wasn't in the article.
It's a nice behind-the-scenes look at how one car company gets its name put into movies, though, so there is that.
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BECAUSE AUDI PAID FOR IT
Sorry for shouting.
BTW The funniest part of that paid product placement is the Director (presumably) added car engine sounds.
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Edit: Yes, I did confuse Mercedes with Audi. Oops.
Obviously, because he saw one in the hit film I, Robot starring Will Smith.
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I'm sure there's some precise academic definition of this, but when scenarios such as Disney buying Lucasfilm for $4 billion because they want to sell a theme park and toys, and are willing to craft new movies around those businesses, I'm not sure the distinction is real in any practical way.
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Your comment makes no sense. Of course Apple has product placement. Whether it is paid or a simple partnership is another story. If I need a laptop/phone for a movie or show, it is easy to either use some no-name generic or remove the logo of existing hardware and not be subject to the super strict restrictions Apple typically imposes. Most companies don’t do this, which means Apple is involved with more than providing hardware.
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autoteleology
Ars Centurion
Image caption:
"Mercedes-Benz's relationship with the Jurassic Park franchise started with the second movie, and it's a relationship that continues today. The new G-Class appeared in Jurassic World."
This is very ironic considering the iconic Jurassic Park vehicle is the Jeep Wrangler/Ford Explorer from the first movie. It seems like throwing a bunch of money at something just to stand in a shadow. Day late, dollar short, Mercedes-Benz.
Thanks for looking through the gallery. If you finish reading the article you will see I explicitly called out the fact that the Jurassic Park vehicles switched from Jeeps (which they were in the books) to Mercedes-Benzes.
So what? That was like 10% of the point of my comment, the main purpose of which was pointing out that from my perspective, Mercedes wasted their time and money. What's the ratio of Mercedes to Wrangler/Explorer movie car replicas on the road, you figure?
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I heard the director had to cut the part where Tony is stranded on the side of the road.
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To answer your question as exactly as possible: YES, if that's what sold more cars.
Must think like a "viral" marketer in this fancy new Internet era.
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Well, the simple answer to the headline is: he didn't. The 2012 film titled "The Avengers" was sponsored by Acura, and Tony Stark was briefly driving a convertible 2nd-generation NSX prototype/mock-up at the end of the film.
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Well they certainly did do it. Not sure if they are anymore. But it was a big part of them staying relevant in the down days. https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-p ... ies-2012-8
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evilspoons
Ars Centurion
Best use of "Song 2" by Blur that I can think of. Also great because it was one of the last really good looking BMWs before they got strange for upwards of 15 years.
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I read an article a while ago where Jaguar said they were one of the few car makers happy for their cars to appear in use by villains.
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