Following the economic crisis that has striked all the world and USA in particular, CBS has realized and produced a web serial started last summer. It’s name is “Gemini Division” and its score was to attract ads as product placement and brand integration. The intuition has been good if such partners as Intel, Cisco, UPS and Microsoft have declared their interest since the beginning. The plot is as classic as a “science fiction”, where a detective from New York investigating on a murder discovers a conspiracy. Producing a web product is very different, says Antony Soohoo, general Manager of CBS Interactive. Talking with the subscribers it is in fact possible to change, modify or reinforce any aspect of the story or the characters (from the behaviour to the look, to the private life and the locations) on the base of the tastes of its audience. In this way it is possible to attract specified sponsors, better qualifying their presence and working on the quality of the production… that is exactly what I tried to explain on my last post.

p.latini@oratorio.biz

 It’s in post-production the movie for next Christmas by Warner Bros. It’s name is “Four Christmases” as the couple Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon are obliged to celebrate four Christmases, one for each relative (as the parents are all separated) that live in 4 different parts of San Francisco Bay. A funny movie that relates the complicated life of a couple with separated parents during the stressing period of Christmas. Considering the plot, the locations and above all the very good production, at least three important big spender have proposed themselves for product placement activity. Thus Budweiser will toast with Vince Vaughn’s brothers while in the other room people are playing Taboo. Another great character of the movie is the San Francisco Bay that the couple has to drive across 4 times …. In an elegant black Range Rover.

p.latini@oratorio.biz

 The huge book “Marley& Me” that have sold millions of copies all over the world and relates the extravagant adventures of a lovely Labrador Retriever and his human family, has become a film since Christmas 2008 by 20^th Century Fox (http://marleyandmemovie.com). In the cast there are Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson while the director David Frankel, the same that lead “The Devil Wears Prada”. The film has already gained 135 millions of dollars only in the USA but during 2009 this result should double, as well as the number of viewers that at last will be about 40 millions all over America, Europe and East Asia

With a massive investment Purina, a brand Company of Nestlé Group, has taken part of this great project where it appears with its product in different scenes. But product placement is just a part of the agreement between the movie production and the pet food company that includes as well a project of brand integration and creative utilization. In the ads and trailers Purina is present with its brand and it is connected to a competition (obviously conditioned by the buying of the product itself) whose award is the chance to see our own dog take part of the movie when this will be issued in DVD next Spring. Not only, always speaking of creative utilization, calendars and decorations of the nice honey dog will appear next to Purina white and red checked brand.

Through this operation, of which it is not known the amount, (though for me it is no more than 20 spots on a TV national channel), the brand and the product will reach thousands of millions of people (through to cinema, DVD, TV, trailers, ads, etc.) thanks to such nice movie and a great cast. The cost at any contact is around 0,00006 dollars and the life of the investment is around 7 years. No bad !

p.latini@oratorio.biz

Yesterday the Gaming Insider published an article dedicated to the worldwide phenomenon of product placement within the games, posing the question if was better to choose a game “home” version or e “live” version.

The answer is really not so granted: if on one side the Home version has an inferior potential of visibility, on the other it guarantees a more uniform public and usually a deeper game, that’s to say a more intimate relationship between the player and the sponsor. In the Live version, its power is in the number of players that are reached through the web.

The editor hoped to publish very soon some studies on this argument to clear the ideas of marketing men and Companies that want to plan some strategies in this direction.

Who writes this post, on the contrary, hopes to see the videogames producing Companies (that are not the Producing Companies of consolle such as Sony or Microsoft..) to understand that this product is no more (if ever has been) a niche phenomenon only reserved to a not identified “group of young people” and start to think about a more deeper project (some applications by Nintendo DS go exactly in this direction). In their naivety, the 80’s were much bolder and this caused a series of actions that have never succeeded in developing. Besides encouraging the growth in one of the few sectors that does not suffer the economical crisis, this would offer to the placement planners instruments so efficacious to make the journalist’s question frivolous.

p.latini@oratorio.biz

 Very soon on the Univision portal (www.univision.com), the biggest American network in Spanish language, it will broadcasted “Vidas Cruzadas”, a soap for web realised in collaboration with Endemol and Amistad Production.

15 episodes of 5 minutes each will be visible to all the web subscribers.The plot is probably inspired to a Robert Altman film of 1993, issued by a tale by Raymond Carver. The product has all the characteristics to be good, not only because of the production but even for the cast (Kate del Castillo and Guy Ecker), so prestigious to have lots of fans and web sites dedicated to the same actors. It is very interesting to know that the project will have a “mobile extension” of which, at the moment, there are no news. By sure the fans will have the chance to interact with their actors.

All this has been possible thanks to a huge budget the production has been able to gather thanks to product placement, tie-in and creative utilization. The Companies involved, besides the visibility of their products, will have the chance to talk with the fans through the portal and to all the subscribers of the mobile extensions.

But it’s not only this: within the portal there will be a lottery connected to “Vidas Cruzadas”, where it will be possible to win a cameo jewel in an episode, special interviews to the actors and other gadgets. All these opportunities are offered even to the Sponsors, so to obtain a good visibility without being intrusiveI. This promotion, it’s better to remember, does never interrupt the programme or the web surfing and does not interfere unless the public ask for it.

Already in other occasions, Univision has demonstrated to be unique for innovation, creativity and original subjects, so to gain the faith of the big Endemol and of lots of Companies that follow and support her in her reinterpretation of entertainment as well as of advertising.

p.latini@oratorio.biz

 In November the last episode had 18.800.000 viewers: the greatest record for CBS. After working together for 6 years Jethro and his fellows lost their boss in a conspiracy and the team were split off….. too much to think about a new season for NCIS, even for the most reckless screenplayers.

Thus, considering the success and the strong personality of this serial (born as spin off of JAG), Nina Tassler, CBS President, is now considering a sequel.Tassler did not reveal many other details about the upcoming show, but probably it will be a “multi-drama” solution as happened successfully for CSI that is actually on two sides (Miami and New York), and for many years it was on three (Las Vegas was the location of the first CSI definitively ended this season).

Who knows if in the new version it will be possible to see all those beautiful writing desks full of objects so interesting for the placement planners as well as for many companies ?

p.latini@oratorio.biz

 This blog has already talked about the huge Hollywood Production by Roland Emmerich shooted mostly in Vancouver about the Maja prophecy that affirms that on December 21st 2012 there will be a huge but unclear revolution. Someone thinks the end of the earth, someone the arrival of the aliens while the most careful think about a new era marked by a more conscious common awareness.

While awaiting, the only new event is connected to the different and revolutionary ads campaign. No more spots during the American Super Bowl and a small budget for the traditional channels. The Production exploits web and a new strategy that we could call “Indiana Jones Syndrome”. Everything starts from Google and the key word is “2012”, but don’t think to watch the movie trailer or read other info at the first, second or third ranking place.

However the investment has been enormous, the access key of the ads campaign is at the centre of the group, where the marketing experts believe people would mainly concentrate their interest. “People like discovering by themselves what they are looking for and believe the files on the second half of the screen are the most interesting, something to disclose, the starting point for new discoveries. Moreover the plot is right for this kind of activity”, declares the marketing manager of the Production, proclaiming other new interesting innovations connected to the teaser ads campaign. It will be possible to book a place to get safe from the disaster, to get to know strategic information about the future, forgotten cultures and reveal secret messages; but nothing of this will be so easy.

Everything has be disclosed… with a little bit of creativity, intuition and enthusiasm… so another sharp change from the ads establishment and a new path tracked below the line, following the feeble marketing signs.

p.latini@oratorio.biz

A few months ago (on April the 19th 2008) at “Udine Far East Film 10”, was screened PK.COM.CN (www.fareastfilm.com), a Chinese film shooted in a POP way inspired to MTV videos and to downtown youth live in Hong Kong. In general the film has been much more appreciated here than in its home country, where this frenzy to live in the web and this wish of young people to become “more occidentalized” is still not well accepted by all teenagers. What’s interesting about this movie is a question proposed by the most important web movie magazine in Hong Kong, about a verbal mention, well placed in a scene as the critics themselves have admitted. The scene is as follows: while two guys are surfing in Internet, on the PC the homepage of a well-known Chinese web portal (ww.sina.com) appears and one of the actors says to the other that “on the web site of sina you can find lots of stuff”. To resume: the scene presents a product placement (the home page of the web portal on the PC screen) and a verbal mention (the name of the portal entioned by the actor himself). Caustically the critic hopes this operation could be worthwhile in terms of money for the film. However, after the criticism, the journalist has not analysed the other chances that the director and the screenwriter could have to go on with the story. The plot infact, as the editorial staff itself has affirmed, got need of that scene to explain the rest of the movie. It’s useful to know that product placement in China as well as in the United States and India is lawfully allowed. The three main movie districts in the world belong to a bonded area and this, from one side, allows the directors a larger freedom of expression, and on the other increases the financial chances though probably, in a negative way, this gets birth to less prestigious projects but much more defined for those Companies interested in Product Placement. From this point of view Tv has been a pioneer and a teacher for years with programmes such as Soap Operas, Tv-selling, sponsoring, ecc.   

So nothing new under the sky, only more opportunities.

p.latini@oratorio.biz

 Even the international press has talked about the new French law about advertising on TV. Practically on the national channels the ads in prime, second and third time has been disappeared (technically from 08:00pm to 6:00 am). But this is not the end: in 3 years the spots will be completely cancelled from any TV programme. Nothing to be scared as the 50 millions euros that the TV channels will loose because of this law, it will be rewarded thanks to a new tax. It will be sufficient to have got a computer or a mobile to pay a tax that will be able to level any possible loss. All this despite the first tests on audience have not given positive results.

This law, probably applied to protect the quality of the programmes (who knows !!) or the citizens’ freedom (beh !!), seems to start by saying that the French people are no more able to discriminate, though the daily ads on newspapers, radio, billboards on transports and every where in town, especially in case of TV (well-known as hypnotic and noxious) that seems to influence them in such a hurtful way to modify unconsciously but deeply their behaviour towards shopping (especially from 8:00pm to 6:00am).

Who knows if the next public appearing of Carla Bruni at Eliseo will be accused of Product Placement……

p.latini@oratorio.biz

 John Chattman is a media Director and Creative producer from New York who knows a lot about product placement. Just to underline he is one of those that have positively welcomed the Italian law about brand integration and product placement, that despite the rumors (of which I will speak in future post) is a good test. In one of his articles on a web specialized magazine, john Chattman has instead analysed the situation in Great Britain, which is very similar to the American market.

“Sooner or later The United Kingdom should regulate the Product Placement and it will be a law of “opening” not of “closure”, he affirms with certainty that maybe derives from the recent declarations of Andy Burnham. The Uk culture secretary and big opponent of product placement has infact affirmed that he will value with great open mind the bill more or less defined. The bill seems to be focused to regulate only those products aimed to the children and in a minor measure those broadcasted in prime time. Slowly though inexorably even Great Britain seems to welcome this new instrument that, if well managed, is a real resource for the Economy, the Companies and even the Filmmakers that could invest better and more on their projects. He is optimist like only an American Creative producer can be but even pragmatic as lots of us try to be.