The current blockbusters 'Cast Away' and 'What Women Want' are more than movies. They're also feature-length commercials.
Product placement, the practice of advertising stuff by getting it in movies, is hitting new heights as merchandise becomes almost as prominent in some films as the living actors. (Don't be surprised if you see a volleyball up for best supporting actor this year.)
Generally, product placements don't bother me. They can lend authenticity to a film. In some cases, they actually add a punchline, as in the jeans McFly (Michael J. Fox) wore in 'Back to the Future.'
But they cause problems when (as in 'Cast Away') a company with a key product placement (FedEx) gets script-approval rights and helps shape the story.
Then films become less about entertaining or enlightening and more about selling.
As a tribute to the selling of our film medium, I offer the following quiz. Match the products or companies with the movies that promoted them. Answers at the end of the column.
X X X
THE QUIZ
1. Wilson Sporting Goods
2. Merrill Lynch investments
3. Apple Powerbook
4. Oakley Inc. sunglasses
5. Ray Ban sunglasses
6. Papa John's
7. Zoloft, an anti-depressant
8. Reese's Pieces
9. BMW Roadster
10. Nike
11. Wal-Mart
12. Pepsi
13. AOL
14. PanAm
15. Shell oil company
16. Phillips Electronics cell
phones
17. Starbucks
18. Huggies diapers
19. Skittles
20. Mercedes Benz sports-utility vehicles
21. Triumph motorcycles
22. Toro Snowblowers
23. Calvin Klein
24. Taco Bell
25. Armani
26. Jack Daniels
A. 'Twister'
B. 'Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me'
C. '2001: A Space Odyssey'
D. 'The Ninth Gate'
E. 'What Women Want'
F. 'The Sixth Sense'
G. 'Where the Heart Is'
H. 'Analyze This'
I. 'Mission: Impossible 2'
J. 'GoldenEye'
K. 'Mildred Pierce'
L. 'E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial'
M. 'Risky Business'
N. 'Raising Arizona'
O. 'Inspector Gadget'
P. 'American Gigolo'
Q. 'You've Got Mail'
R. 'Dr. T & the Women'
S. 'Nobody's Fool'
T. 'Enemy of the State'
U. 'Jurassic Park'
V. 'Cast Away'
W. 'Barb Wire'
X. 'Back to the Future'
Y. 'Mission: Impossible'
Z. 'Demolition Man'
Answers: 1. V; 2. H; 3. Y; 4. I; 5. M; 6. R; 7. F; 8. L; 9. J; 10. E; 11. G; 12. A; 13. Q; 14. C; 15. D; 16. T; 17. B; 18. N; 19. O; 20. U; 21. W; 22. S; 23. X; 24. Z; 25. P; 26. K.
X X X
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(c) 2001, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
Visit GT Online, the World Wide Web site of The Gazette, at http://www.gazette.com
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
