The movie ‘The Greatest Movie Ever Sold’ is so far the best movies created entirely on the subject of marketing. The movie highlights the concept of product placement and advertising in a humorous yet insightful manner. The movie begins when the director Morgan Spurlock actually makes use of several marketing techniques to get sponsors to pay for the cost of filming. Product placement, as we know, is all about creating a perception if the product or service in the eyes of customers. Companies or brands communicate to customers their message which is aimed at molding the perception of customers they way they wish. For achieving this purpose, they make use of several marketing tools of which advertising tops the list (Galician, Mary-Lou 10). Spurlock is seen enthusiastic on making this movie cum documentary by convincing the owners of some great organizations for sponsorship. Spurlock explores the concept of product placement in much detail and finds out that marketers have a strong role in making a brand appealing to the customers- the marketers play with the minds of customers in a way that they are convinced willingly to avail the products and services being offered.
In the flick ‘The Greatest Movie Ever Sold’, a great skill has been taught to the audience about how to convince sponsors to provide necessary funds for carrying out a project. Spurlock is shown giving presentations in hilarious and yet persuasive ways and finally, he is able to get hold of enough funding for the movie. The movie has shown how advertisement is shaping up the lives of consumers. Advertisment has the power to control an entire culture. Consumers usually wait for their favorite brands to come up with new and improved products and services which are communicated via different forms of advertisement channels such as print media, internet, social media, radio, television, billboards etc.
Debates have been arising over the nature of product placement-some people regard it as an ethical approach whereas others classify it as unethical. Those who are in favor of advertisement being an ethical activity believe that organizations exist for making profits which is obtained by selling the products they manufacture and there is nothing wrong with reaching the target customers through various promotional activities as long as cultural and religious values are not harmed. On the contrary, some people think that advertisement has created such a strong influence on our lives that customers have almost lost their ability to make decisions while making a purchase- we follow advertisements blindly without actually thinking if the offering being marketed is our personal need or not. There are several products and services which have made their way into the lives of common customers only because of advertisements. But then again, we cannot deny that advertisement is a field in its own and its impact on human lives all over the globe is definitely at surge.
It is clearly being shown in the movie titled “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” that product placement laws in other countries of the world are not similar to the US laws. For instance, in Brazil the billboards are empty because the law wants that consumers should make purchases on their own without being appealed to advertisements. When surveyed, the common public showed no resistance to advertisements which means that consumers wish to rely on the power of advertisement to shape up their purchasing patterns. Laws related to product placement are different in other countries as compared to the US. Copyright laws and Trade Marks Acts have somewhat similar philosophy where copyrights if violated can result in heavy fines and in case of Trademark Acts, advertisements and shows on television can make use of trademarks while ensuring that they don’t cause any type of infringement to them. In the UK, companies pay to the advertisement media such as television or radio for showing/highlighting their products. When props are used, there is no allowance for distributors or producers of content whereas the case of paid advertisement is quite the opposite where the target audience gets notified. In the US, Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code contains information on the kind of placement to be done and how to carry it out while ensuring that the name of sponsor gets disclosed and editorial justification is also required. In the UK, the paid advertisements are not really over highlighted to achieve the aim of product placement unlike the US placement laws and there are some products such as baby milk, cigarettes or alcoholic drinks which are not recommended for placement.
My learning and views on marketing especially in the context of product placement have refined. I did not know earlier that product placement can be as important a concept that an entire documentary would be based on it. I found the movie quite impressive as the actor and director presents advertisement from various angles by associating it with the element of humor. I have been exposed to laws on product placement about which I had no awareness. Moreover, I have observed that consumers have become used to of advertisements and product placement activities and associate their intensity to the strength of available brands.
Reference
Galician, Mary-Lou. Handbook of product placement in the mass media: New strategies in marketing theory, practice, trends, and ethics. Routledge, 2013.
