Hiram Lodge, the manipulative crime lord who targets the fictional town of Riverdale, sits back in his office chair. After plotting his latest scheme with a cohort over submarine sandwiches, he takes a bite of a Doritos chip, holding the bag in clear view of the camera while looking away pensively.
Frito-Lay, which got the snack on the CW Network’s teen drama Riverdale with the help of the No. 1 product placement company BEN, hopes audiences noticed enough to crave their own bag of Doritos, but not so much that they became annoyed.
Click here to read the story at bloomberg.com.
Discussion Questions:
- What is advertising?
- What are the different forms of advertising?
- What is product placement?
- What is “linear television” (as described in this news story) and how does it differ from streaming from an advertising perspective?
- Can you think of a product or brand you have seen in a television show, music video or movie that you have recently watched?
- Based on information from this story, what movie generated the most revenue from product placement in 2020?
- In your opinion, does a product placement detract from what you are watching or listening to?
- According to your textbook, is all product placement a paid form of advertising?
- This news story describes how technology is playing a role in product placement. How has advancement in tech changed the way brands might approach decisions relating to product placement?
- How might that impact you as a consumer?