Jan 29 Blog

Seesaw Media’s 2023 Recap and a 2024 Sneak Peak

Now that January is coming to an end, this is the perfect time for us to look back at Seesaw Media’s favourite placements of last year!

But first, how can we talk about entertainment in 2023 without mentioning the writers and actors’ strike? The WGA and SAG-AFTRA unions ended up striking for nearly 6 months. After many negotiation rounds, both sides managed to come together in an agreement for fairer working conditions, compensation, as well as protection against AI. The long months of striking meant many productions were put on hold. However, this didn’t mean all films and TV shows had to be paused.

Today, Hollywood has evolved and is no longer a local and homogeneous business. Smaller independent film companies that respected the interim agreements were allowed to go ahead with filming. Additionally, in the last few years, many big Hollywood productions and studios have started basing their filming locations in the UK. This meant filming could go ahead over here. Some of 2023’s biggest films were shot in England. The list includes box office hits such as “Barbie”, “Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning”, “Wonka”, “Ant-Man Quantumania” and “Fast X”.

Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in Barbie

As for Seesaw Media, the strike did not stop us from working and doing what we do best: securing our clients exposure in many of your favourite films and TV shows! 2023 was a year of many genres and fantastic movies. A multitude of films were released which allowed us to see the result of our work on the big screen with exciting action blockbusters like “Fast X”, “Meg 2” and “Expendables 4”.

Jason Momoa in Fast X

2023 was also the return of the rom-com in cinemas! We were thrilled to secure exposure in both Lily James’s film “What’s Love Got to Do with It” as well as ending the year with “Anyone But You”, the highest grossing rom-com since Bridget Jones’s Baby (another one of Seesaw Media’s films!). “Anyone But You”, still in cinemas, is delivering strong box office numbers and is now way past the $100M mark.

Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney in Anyone But You

From political dramas like “The Diplomat”, to the fan favourite final series of Netflix’s “The Crown” as well as Apple TV’s nail-biting “Hijack”, (which recorded a record-breaking 357M minutes of viewing time), 2023 was a great year for our clients on the small screen too!

Marvel’s latest spy series, “Secret Invasion” gave us an opportunity to once again dress the wonderful Emilia Clarke. And speaking of spies and espionage, we also got to work on the third series of “Slow Horses” which finally came out in December, with an ending making us wish series 4 would come sooner!

Emilia Clarke in Secret Invasion

On the lighter side of entertainment, we saw the return of TV’s favourite radio shrink Frasier Crane in the Paramount+ reboot. We learnt he still very much enjoys the finer things in life and has great taste in whisky.

Now that we’re well into 2024, we’re looking at the year ahead and are very excited and grateful to be off with such a strong start already! The Netflix movie “LIFT” starring Kevin Hart has been number one in 82 countries resulting in client exposure having been seen by 36.5M viewers in one week alone! And that’s not the only action-packed film that is currently available to watch, “The Beekeeper” starring Jason Statham is now in cinemas.

Kevin Hart in LIFT

Now that everyone in this industry is back at work, 2024 is shaping up to be a great year for entertainment and Seesaw Media! Stay tuned for more…

Sep 27 Blog

Blockbusters (And Brands) Back On The Big Screen

After the pandemic brought cinemas to a stand still in 2020, it now looks like 2022 has seen the return of the movie blockbuster and audiences with it. Flooding back to local cinemas and multiplexes box office numbers are close to pre-pandemic figures. 

 

Not only are the blockbusters and audiences back, but so are the many brands who partner with movies and benefit from their on screen exposure, through product placement.

 

As the big studios have released their summer blockbusters, we take a look back at some of this year’s biggest and best and the brand partnerships contained within them.

 

The highest grossing film of this year with $1.4 billion worldwide is Tom Cruise’s aerial phenomena: Top Gun: Maverick. This critically acclaimed and highly rated sequel responsible for bringing thousands of moviegoers back to the big screen. Its also currently the 11th highest grossing film of all time (according to Boxofficemojo). Just as in the original 1986 blockbuster that helped cement Tom Cruise as a Hollywood movie star, Maverick has a number of brands appearing on screen, many of which appeared in the original. From the Top Gun recruits drinking Budweiser in the bar, to Maverick riding alongside a jet on his original Kawasaki motorcycle, to pilots sporting the requisite pair of Ray-Ban’s – the latter seeing the similar increase in sales that they did when they appeared in the first movie 

Top Gun: Maverick 2022

 

The 2nd highest grossing film of the year is Jurassic World: Dominion, the final film in the Chris Pratt led trilogy, is also just shy of the billion dollar mark. Whilst it doesn’t feature as many brands as Top Gun, this monster of a movie that was filmed during the midst of the pandemic, still has a few noticeable companies that help bring the big screen adventure to life. Jeep, the official automotive partner of the movie, not only appeared in the movie but also implemented a global marketing campaign. In terms of two wheels Owen Grady (Pratt) can be seen tending to his Triumph as featured in the earlier films at one point drives through the streets of Malta on a Honda Montesa 4Ride.

Jurassic World: Dominion Poster (2022)

 

Marvel’s first film of the year Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness takes 3rd place, also close to the billion dollar mark with a very respectable $955 million. Whilst the superhero blockbuster is slightly lighter on recognisable products due to its multi-dimensional story there are one or two stand out placements. The most noticeable is Strange’s Jaeger-LeCoultre, the watch Doctor Strange was given by his love interest in the original movie. More than just a prop, the watch book ends the sequel showing how Strange’s life has changed over time.

Doctor Strange’s Jaeger-LeCoultre (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 2022)

 

Rounding off the list is the first Blockbuster of the year back in March, the Matt Reeves/Robert Pattinson/Zoë Kravitz/Paul Dano critically acclaimed gothic masterpiece The Batman with $770 million. The gothic superhero movie uses product placement to ground their movie, to connect to the audience using brands and imagery they know to make the characters and locations feel real. The Batman is set in the gloomy fictional city of Gotham, illuminated by a Times square esque set of billboards featuring real world brands everything from Puma to Little Caesars, Westin to Ardbeg whisky. 

Gotham’s introduction (The Batman, 2022)  

 

Whilst these may be the biggest films of the year so far, there are plenty more cinematic releases enticing audiences back to the big screen, many of which are full of brand partners. The most noticeable of which is the high speed Brad Pitt actioner Bullet Train which apart from the iconic mode of transport as referenced in the film’s title, and the Breitling worn by Brad Pitt’s character (who coincidentally happens to be a Breitling ambassador), gives a large portion of screen time to the Tumi briefcase that everyone is after – a marketing tagline that Tumi used when promoting their association globally in stores

 

Tumi X Bullet Train campaign (2022)

 

However, the biggest placement goes to Fiji Water, who not only appears throughout the movie but gets a whole scene dedicated to it. According to co-star Brian Tyree Henry’s interview with hype.com; “I didn’t know that you could make a Fiji water bottle another character but we managed to do that.” The Fiji bottle was a scripted feature and something the studio Sony took directly to Fiji water, showing how a recognisable brand can steal the show when placed in the right movie.

Ladybug, Lemon and the star Fiji water bottle (Bullet train, 2022)

With big films still left to come this year including Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Avatar: Way of the Water hopefully audiences and brand partners will keep returning to cinemas and multiplexes as the film industry gears up for a packed 2023.

Nov 03 Blog

No Time To Buy? Why Bond is the Perfect Franchise for Product Placement

With No Time To Die on target to surpass Avengers: Endgame as the fifth highest grossing film in UK box office history, as usual a lot of media attention has surrounded the brand partnerships seemingly almost as iconic as the titular character himself. Twenty-five different brands are featured throughout the 2hr 43m runtime with fourteen paying nearly £100 million to attain partnership status and the potential commercial and advertising benefits that come with that position. While there is much debate on whether this advertising has gone ‘too far’, it doesn’t seem a concern for the brands increasingly eager to have their products featured and crucially, as Daniel Craig himself said on the making of Skyfall in 2012, “The simple fact is that, without (product placement), we couldn’t do it (the movie).”

 

Aston Martin advert in which Daniel Craig drives a DB5 (Source: Deadline)

 

With marketing spend pushed over the $100 million mark due to COVID-19 enforced delays (the first main trailer was released in December 2019) and a production budget around $250 million, funding from product placement is a key component in allowing the intense action set pieces that audience’s love to be greenlit by executives in the first place. However, the return these brands see from their investment can be significant. Casino Royale saw Bond famously wear the La Perla Grigioperla Lodato swimsuit that is perennially sold out to date, the pair Craig wore himself sold for nearly £45,000 at auction a few years later. Apparel seems to be as close to a guaranteed hit for brands, if you’re dressing Bond, be it for a publicity still, a trailer or the final cut itself, it’s unlikely that any of your items will be in stock just days later. Towards the end of Skyfall, Craig picks up a Barbour jacket that retailed at £400, those same jackets were selling for over £2,000 on eBay later that week after selling out in-store and online. Bond is not just a fictional character; he is a modern-day trendsetter and style icon whose tastes consumers respond incredibly quickly to.

 

Daniel Craig in Skyfall wearing a Barbour jacket (Source: Bond Suits)



The two years of build up to release has not been without challenges for integrated brands as the devastating impacts of COVID-19 took hold, nonetheless, in the world of product placement, some faced more than others. The tech industry is dominated by a rapid development pace, innovation is the core tenet for success for products where many consumers look to upgrade annually. Nokia, the official phone provider for No Time To Die, were unsurprisingly not pleased that their significant investment into the franchise would not only lead to Bond and co not having cutting edge technology, but the audience frequently having more advanced devices in their pockets while watching. In January of this year there was an explosion of articles that placed the majority of the blame for another delayed released date at the doorstep of Nokia, due to reshoots taking place in order to update the tech to a more recent line. The 2019 trailer featured a Nokia 7.2 smartphone with more recent ones changed to include a 8.3 model instead, clearly, even if this these claims aren’t entirely accurate, Nokia have understood the importance of their investment showing off their latest (and most expensive) devices.

 

Lynch’s updated Nokia 8.3 smartphone in No Time To Die’s 2021 trailer (Source: Tech Radar)

 

In the Bond films of the 20th century, product placement was similarly prevalent, but over the last fifteen years more creative marketing efforts means that you’re now more likely to see 007’s face on the small screen than the big one. Craig’s has appeared frequently in Heineken adverts, the latest a charming swipe at the impatient, in which the star is shown quietly drinking a beer before informing us it’s “well worth the wait”. However, for possibly the first time, the female lead in Lashana Lynch is enjoying a comparable partnership push. Over the past two years she has featured in photoshoots and adverts for the Nokia phones that her character, Nomi, uses throughout the film. It might have come as a surprise for fans to see Lynch use the slightly more rugged profile of the Nokia compared to a sleeker Sony device of character’s past and this isn’t an accident. Evolution is a key theme of No Time To Die and that means some of the quirks of the older films, like Q’s longstanding patience with the state that Bond leaves his gadgets in after every mission, will have to go – there are no broken handsets this time around. Net sales for Nokia have doubled since last year, but it remains to be seen if this is purely down to the recovering COVID-19 economy or if their global Bond campaign, and the product placement within, have had a part to play.

 

Heineken advert starring Daniel Craig (Source: Ad Week)

 

While much of the Bond operating software has received a much-needed update in 2021, one aspect of his character hasn’t changed. For as long as James Bond has existed, he has been a perfect agent for brands to advertise their products. Bond’s charm, sophistication and prowess are aspirational and have kept the character relevant to audiences and advertisers for the past five decades. Despite the exorbitant costs there is still no one better for brands targeting a successful product placement strategy.

 

Oct 30 Blog

Paranormal Product Placement

With Halloween fast approaching, the streets will once again be lined with the paranormal: zombies, vampires, ghosts and more in search of tricks and treats. So, in honour of this now global tradition we shine a light on the films and TV shows that celebrate this holiday and, most importantly, the brands that take a starring role through product placement.

There once was a time where companies were scared of being connected to horror films, yet a rise in this genre’s popularity (especially amongst the hard to reach 15-25 male demographic) has led to a rise in the number of brands using product placement to appeal to that audience. Ever since the Scream and Twilight franchises, the latter of which went to gross over $1 billion, brands have been waking up to the appeal of these films and have not been frightened off by the sometime gruesome content

Most recently with Get Out and Alien: Covenant’s opening weekends drawing in $33million, and over $36million respectively, the genre and the appetite for horror films has gone from strength to strength; culminating in this year’s fright fest by the ultimate master of horror, Stephen King with It (2017) becoming the highest grossing horror film of all time having netted over $600 million globally.

In Get Out, the break out hit which saw a return of $253.1million off just a $4.5million budget, it wasn’t just the Producers who cashed in on the film’s success. Microsoft has a starring role in the film with the Microsoft Lumia 950 phone, the Surface tablet and Bing search engine, all appearing prominently on screen.

Not only do the characters use a Microsoft tablet, but they used Bing – a Microsoft search Engine. This may be the most unrealistic bit of product placment considering that when it comes to search engines Google is the go-to resource used by over 77.43% of people online. Apart from Bring, the tech placement in the film is subtle, giving Microsoft products an organic presence in the film.

Microsoft aren’t the only tech brand to benefit from on screen exposure with the Canon EOS 7D making a cameo, with imagery that look like they could be an advertisement.

Furthermore, our heroes car, a Lincoln MKC, is given screen time front and centre coinciding with it 2017 launch.

Product placement in Alien: Covenant was literally out of this world. A successful science-fiction franchise, directed by Ridley Scott, was the perfect platform for brands to showcase their longevity. From the glossy, black Steinway piano played by Michael Fassbender’s character at the start of the movie  to the AI-driven Audi Lunar Quattro, brands were more than happy to showcase their latest and greatest products in this terrifying movie.

The AI-driven Audi Lunar Quattro in particular demonstrates Audi’s advances in the field of Artificial Intelligence. “The ‘Alien’ franchise is the best way for us to garner suitable attention for the Moon rover developed by Audi, and to showcase Audi’s intelligent technologies in a visionary environment,” said Giovanni Perosino, vice president of international marketing communication at Audi.

Slightly less luxurious but just as impressive, JCB also features prominently in the film, with a fleet of over 20 gold wrapped construction vehicles appearing on screen.

 

It’s not just the big screen that is seeing a resurgence in the paranormal horror genre, with product placement in paranormal TV shows also on the rise. In reference to a previous tweetPolaroid sales have increased thanks to Stranger Things. With retro products such as Polaroid cameras featuring in the series, it is a fascinating comeback for a brand that was at its height of popularity over 30 years ago. Martin Franklin, the brand’s head of global marketing, has called it the “Stranger Things Effect”. He says “people are enamoured by that 1970s and 1980s aesthetic.”

They also feature Pentax cameras, and go as far as to put them on a poster tease for the new season.

Depending on what you’re doing for Halloween: watching a scary movie, maybe dressing up as Edward or Bella Cullen in Belstaff, the appeal of horror movies to brands is going to last way past the halloweek. So the next time you are in front of the big or small screen, check out how many products you recognise in the that horror-film, it might be more than you think!

Apr 05 Blog

The Future of Product Placement

– 5th April 2017 –

This year, cinema audiences will get not one but four glimpses into the future thanks to a space rocket load of sci-fi movies set to hit the big screen, including: Ghost in the Shell, Alien: Covenant, Valerian and The City of a Thousand Planets and the much anticipated sequel Blade Runner 2049. Though the directors may all have different visions of the future, one thing that can be for certain is that the future will be a world full of brands.

Continue reading The Future of Product Placement

Ghost in the Shell