A new low: Legally Blonde product placements

[TechEverlasting]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 10:59am

After seeing one of the final previews of Legally Blonde I'm quite disturbed by the blatant product placements that were inserted into the show, with all the subtlety of a stampeding herd of elephants.

Okay, I get that Paulette's boyfriend is a UPS guy, but when is the last time anyone here received a UPS package that had an oversized UPS logo covering it? ("Lets make sure we aim that logo right at the spotlight during your first entrance Andy, 'kay?")

What's far worse is the virtual Red Bull commercial we get during Emmet's study scene with Elle. If I want f**ing commercials I'll watch TV at home, not pay $110 for a Broadway ticket. How nice that this show aimed at 'tween girls is espousing the message that overpriced sugar water laced with three times the caffeine of Starbuck's espresso is the secret to academic success. It's fine to show characters using the products that they might use in real life, but the Red Bull scene in LB is as crass and vulgar as any product placement I've ever seen in a Hollywood film.

Has this sort of thing happened in other Broadway shows? It's an epidemic in films and television. Should we just accept the inevitable? After all, some sponsorship money might well prop up some struggling Broadway shows...

It wouldn't be that difficult to write Purina Cat food into "Grey Gardens". Just put Purina labels on all those abandoned cans, and edit a few lines:

Little Edie: I can't mother, I'm feeding the cats their "Fancy Feast"

Big Edie: I need my liver pate', I can't make it, you have to.

Little Edie: Coming Mother. (Winks at the audience) "With Purina You Can Feed With Confidence! "



How about deals with Ambien for "Drowsy Chaperone" and Clearasil for "Spring Awakening"?

[Anakela]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:03am

don't forget the "we all flew here on jetBlue" line.

The Legally Blonde website sponsor page lists a couple of things I don't remember seeing/hearing being plugged in the show...I am intrigued by the Crunch gym logo- can we do the "whipped into Shape" workout at Crunch gym now or something?

Legally Blonde sponsor page Updated On: 5/1/07 at 11:03 AM

[lindas13]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:04am

guess it is sad to say..... it happens in more and more places.
the jockey's want ads on their backs so they can make sponsor money. times they are a changing. hope the Pope doesn't start using Gallo and Keebler labels.

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:05am

Paulette & the UPS guy also discuss how great Olive Garden is, yes?

That Red Bull thing is new since SF...

[TechEverlasting]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:07am

That's one thing that really disturbed me about the Red Bull bit, it wasn't there in San Francisco. Was it added because it brought some depth to Elle's character? Because it was just so funny? Because it added to her understanding of her journey?

No, it was added in return for some sponsorship money. A pox on all their houses.

[Eastwickian]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:07am

Seem to remember that 'In my Life' had some pretty blatant product placement, as well as the advertising jingles being sung on stage by God...

[NJgirl]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:09am

They also plug Matrix vavoom products in the Hair Affair.

Ehh...I could care less about the product placement.

If anyone actually looks at their playbills for any show...in the special thanks section, it usually plugs something, like Ricola drops,Emergen-C, MAC cosmetics, etc. It's how things are done these days I guess....

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:10am

Remember when watching TV shows, how someone was using some product, such as soda, and there was a big white label over where the logo was supposed to be?

Things have changed nowadays.

I'm an advertising major, and unfortunately, product placement is expanding beyond TV and into movies, video games, and, yes, even Broadway shows and other theatrical events.

With innovations such as TiVo, consumers are finding ways to avoid commericals. Advertisers are fighting this by putting these blatant product placements into places where you cannot really avoid it that much.

Legally Blonde is a modern day musical, and Elle is extremely materialistic. It would make sense for advertisers to stick product placements here and there in a show like that.

"How about deals with Ambien for "Drowsy Chaperone" and Clearasil for "Spring Awakening"?"

If you watch the show carefully, I'm sure if you look around the Man in Chair's apartment, you can find everyday products (but I don't really remember the specifics about the set, so I am not sure). Also, I believe the Power Bar scene is a product placement.

[Steve2]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:10am

Sweet Charity revival had a liquor product placement. I don't remember the name so their advertising didn't work very well with me.
Updated On: 5/1/07 at 11:10 AM

[Action2]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:11am

Honestly, I don't have a problem with it. If it doesn't detract from the show, and throws a little money/support to a new show...go for it. If Legally Blond (or Broadway...or theatre) gets a plug on Jet Blue or with UPS...all the better in the long run.

And, truth be told, Red Bull IS what college is all about now a days.

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:14am

I had to laugh at this - it reminded me of Hunter's "Hot Pocket" jingle in [title of show] and his comment to Susan that "We could go totally NASCAR and have product placement patches all over our costumes!"

[TechEverlasting]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:20am

Yes, Elle and her friends are materialistic, and I didn't really mind the line about "Jet Blue" or the "Olive Garden" gag. I don't mind products being in shows if they don't interrupt the flow of the production and draw attention to themselves. I especially don't mind product placements if they're funny or clever.

Both the UPS ad (Andy Karl comes out carefully pointing the UPS logo right at the audience) and the Red Bull info-mercial were blatant interruptions of the dramatic flow of the show, and were obviously written by advertising hacks.

It takes a lot to cheapen this sort of material, but these guys managed to do it.

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:37am

Actually, I think the UPS guy's entrance makes perfect sense - it's a jokey indication of what's coming to the patrons familiar with the movie.

[another_take]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:37am

I'm not as bothered by this stuff as are some others here. I'd actually like to see the investors getting their money back and remaining willing to invest in more shows in the future. So many shows lose money for the investors, we need some that are profitable. Interestingly, there's an article in this week's Economist on this very subject. Helps put it into some perspective, I think.

http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9101443

It's also worth a mention that in terms of ticket sales, Legally Blonde has started off in pretty good shape as the #9 top theater event in the US and #6 in NYC this past week. Go for it, guys!

http://www.ticketnews.com/Josh-Groban-Steals-The-Show5017

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:47am

Blanche: Thank you. I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.

Medic: Kleenex, ma'am?

Blanche: Mmmm...so soft and delicate. Like me!

[commasplice]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:47am

Drowsy would be better off plugging Provigil, an anti-sleepiness medication

"Chaperone, didn't you take your Provigil today?"
"It doesn't allow you to drink. Now where's my martini?"

That being said, I have yet to see a show with overt product placement, but I have a feeling it would get on my nerves.

[Action2]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:49am

GREAT ECONOMIST ARTICLE

I like the point asking if using HARVARD in the show should be considered advertising/product placment. Could have been XYZ University.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:54am

None of this sits well come review time. It's shameless.

[Miss.Vanessi]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 11:58am

If you watch the show carefully, I'm sure if you look around the Man in Chair's apartment, you can find everyday products (but I don't really remember the specifics about the set, so I am not sure). Also, I believe the Power Bar scene is a product placement.

There's a picture of Jeanette MacDonald... so is Warner Bros. trying to get people interested in a MacDonald and Eddy box set?

I don't really mind product placement as long as it makes sense within the show. As Action said, many college students do think they need Red Bull to get through the day. Using the actual product, rather than inventing some kitschy name for an energy drink for the show, makes it more relatable to the target audience. If they did go straight for made up products, this thread would be all about trying to figure out what name brand thing they're making fun of or trying to promote.

[carymetorent2]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 12:06pm

I think the UPS guy thing is intended to bring people back to the movie. If they wanted it to be blatant product placement, they could have given Kyle a line about UPS or something.

As for teh Red Bull, that line from Christian always gets a huge laugh. I think it's hysterical and Red Bull is a big part of college.

The JetBlue thing always struck me as a little weird though.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 12:22pm

There are worse things in the world to be upset about...lighten up!

[thepoolboy]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 12:23pm

From what I have heard, they added in the Red Bull thing because Christian and LBB are addicts and love energy drinks.

As far as part of the journey, one could argue that it's part of how Emmett is effected by Elle. He comes in suspicious of the Red Bull and ends up loving it.

Okay maybe that's a bit of a stretch.

Regardless, it gets quite the laugh every time.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 12:26pm

Is there actual discussion of Red Bull, or are they just consuming it? I ask, because at my college, the majority of my friends are CONSTANTLY consuming Red Bulls and other energy drinks. So to me, it doesn't seem that out of place.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 12:31pm

If anyone actually looks at their playbills for any show...in the special thanks section, it usually plugs something, like Ricola drops,Emergen-C, MAC cosmetics, etc.

Oh please, like a teeny one-line "Makeup provided by MAC cosmetics" buried in the annals of Playbill after the name of the payroll supervisor is remotely comparable to characters having a lengthy discussion about the Olive Garden. Had Glinda stopped during Popular to alert everyone that MAC provided the pink lipstick, then it would be a similar situation.

[beyondblessed]

Posted: 5/1/07 at 12:34pm

If you watch the show carefully, I'm sure if you look around the Man in Chair's apartment, you can find everyday products (but I don't really remember the specifics about the set, so I am not sure). Also, I believe the Power Bar scene is a product placement.

He also drinks Apple and Eve brand juice boxes.