• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Worst product placement/advertisement in TV Shows.

Status
Not open for further replies.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia had a thing going with Coors for a while. It was odd to see in their episodes...especially one that featured Dave and Busters, with Dennis and Mac's failed attempted to monetize a shantytown

The Coors thing made sense but seeing it right in our faces was annoying. Dave Busters too but thankfully the episode was funny.

Bing in Amazing Spider-Man was funny.
 
Not a TV show and I have yet to view it myself, but it felt like ALL anyone discussed a couple years ago when 'Man of Steel' premiered was how blatant the product placement/branding was.
 
Community? Maybe not worst, but odd. I always wondered how they dealt with the Subway placement in that show. It was constantly around, I mean hell, it was a major component of several story lines. Yet they never actually painted even a decent picture of the place.

The Subway product placement deal kept Community on life support. Same with Chuck.
 
ZSWVngE.gif
Not blatant enough.

CuMnzkN.gif
 
Heroes:

250px-Nissan_versa.jpg


I hate it when the product placement becomes an actual plot point.

For those who haven't watched it, or don't remember, a couple of the characters get a comic book that spells out their future, down to the exact make and model of car they rent.
 
Earlier seasons in The Walking Dead where the zombie apocalypse has left us with nothing but broken down junker cars and pristine Hyundais
 
The Mindy Project apparently takes place in a parallel universe where Windows Phone became the most popular smartphone...Like, c'mon. youre gonna tell me that Mindy isn't a rose gold iPhone kind of girl? WP doesn't even have Snapchat...
 
The Simpsons has been pretty bad about this for the past 10 years. I remember one episode where Marge was talking with someone in the kitchen, and she had Pop-Tarts. Then there was an inexplicable camera cut to Marge pushing the Pop-Tarts down into the toaster.

Also, there was an episode that started out at an "Absolut Krusty" party, which was an obvious play on Absolut Vodka. The Absolut logo was in literally every single shot.
 
Dr. House was shown playing Metroid on a GBA, i recall they even had gameplay footage at least once.

The gameplay footage is what made it sort of weird, since it was a handheld.

The most cringey i remember tho was in Heroes, the blonde lady (whose name i forgot, to be fair the same actress played 3 different characters) is watching her Son playing Heavenly Sword (which was not out at the time) and later says something like "we can play together later". Heavenly Sword turned out to not have Multiplayer.
 
Walking Dead and it's brand new cars during the zombie apocalypse were pretty funny.
The Mindy Project apparently takes place in a parallel universe where Windows Phone became the most popular smartphone...Like, c'mon. youre gonna tell me that Mindy isn't a rose gold iPhone kind of girl? WP doesn't even have Snapchat...
I feel like there was a year where every single show i watched had Windows Phone when they launched the latest OS.


Anyway, for some awesome product placements, Angie Tribeca usually does some funny ones. There was a Ford ad every single cut back from commercial on the pilot if I recall correctly. And then another did Snickers where each of the characters did the tag line. But that works in such an outlandish show.
 
I remember in the OA on Netflix when they were all eating at a table full of Little Caesar's. The mom asked her if something was wrong, and she just said, "No, this is just soo good."
 
Heroes:

250px-Nissan_versa.jpg


I hate it when the product placement becomes an actual plot point.

For those who haven't watched it, or don't remember, a couple of the characters get a comic book that spells out their future, down to the exact make and model of car they rent.


The first one I thought of.

"not a scratch on the versa! (tm) "

"you got me the rogue!?(tm) "

That was actually what inspired Morgan Spurlock to create a movie of product placements.


American Idol has to be the worst though.
 
My friend and I like to go see the Transformers movies early, so we are the only people in the theater. During the movie we call out "Ad!" for every product placement, and "Flag!" for every US flag onscreen. Call it out first, you get the point. Talley the points at the end of the movie.

My wife and I do the same thing (without the flag) for Top Chef episodes.
 
Dr. House was shown playing Metroid on a GBA, i recall they even had gameplay footage at least once.

The gameplay footage is what made it sort of weird, since it was a handheld.

The most cringey i remember tho was in Heroes, the blonde lady (whose name i forgot, to be fair the same actress played 3 different characters) is watching her Son playing Heavenly Sword (which was not out at the time) and later says something like "we can play together later". Heavenly Sword turned out to not have Multiplayer.

I guess Breaking Bad had Jesse playing Rage before it was out as well.

I remember in the OA on Netflix when they were all eating at a table full of Little Caesar's. The mom asked her if something was wrong, and she just said, "No, this is just soo good."

There was some heavy sponsoring of Little Ceasers in King of the Nerds too.

This is the only video I can find. Forgive the crappy sound/special effects that were added on.. https://youtu.be/auFJVkAjgSk?t=43s
 
I'm reminded of early seasons of Smallville of the AOL desktops/screens and all the nice pickup trucks the Kents family had (that would then get utterly destroyed, next episode they have a new one. No wonder they had money issues!)

Stride gum factory.
 
Heroes:

250px-Nissan_versa.jpg


I hate it when the product placement becomes an actual plot point.

For those who haven't watched it, or don't remember, a couple of the characters get a comic book that spells out their future, down to the exact make and model of car they rent.

I thought in this case , it was hilarious because it was mostly a joke about Hiro mistaking the ad in the comic book as part of the prophecy and demanding to be given a Versa.
 
I think the Josie one is worse because the attention is taken away from the character to the product, which is distracting. Whereas the mirror one is quickly dropped and the focus is back on the mom.

What about Betty on red lipstick on the hot tub / slut shaming episode? they even make talk about it out loud 'makes me feel powerful', or something like than, then they cut to a close up of the brand on the dresser.
 
From the first Transformers movie:

l0LVyPb.jpg


I swear there is another part earlier or later in this same scene where the two characters are talking on the far left and right of the screen framing the giant BK symbol in the middle of them.
 
I remember they did an episode of smallville where they put radioactive material kryptonite in stride gum wich gave pete stretch powers i looked it up on a wiki and found this


"Stride gum was central to the plot of Season Seven
's Hero. The episode took place in a Stride gum factory, and Pete Ross got stretching powers while chewing Stride gum. Chloe Sullivan expresses surprise that the gum factory has already been closed, saying "maybe next time they won't let the flavor last quite so long." This is a reference to Stride's ad campaign, where its gum factories are shut down because it makes "ridiculously long lasting gum".

I remember another episode about james marsters brainiac where lois or chloe was trying to distract a gaurd of some gov facility by showing him her car. The gaurd is in the car and proceeds to act as if this car is the first car and most amazing thing hes ever seen. It was just so blatant, its just a reg car.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom