A new low: Legally Blonde product placements — Page 2

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#26

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Posted: 5/1/07 at 12:38pm

It's just a joke that Elle says. She is all peppy and she has a whole shelf of Red Bull and claims it "gives her energy" and then Emmett has some and does this really funny, hyper thing. It's adorable.

And yes, actually, I do recall, LBB telling us that it was because they both love it so much that they thought it up.

"Less Of A Marilyn, More Of A Jackie" www.richardhblake.com

#27

And now a scene from our sponsors

Posted: 5/1/07 at 12:38pm

Would you rather them have a huge preshow announcement going...
'Welcome to LEGALLY BLONDE! Sponsered by Red Bull, UPS, etc'
(an hour later)
'And now... LEGALLY BLONDE!'

...things could be much worse.

#28

And now a scene from our sponsors

Posted: 5/1/07 at 12:38pm

Yes, there have long been product mentions in the back of Playbills, but I never felt like I was watching a damn info-mercial until I went to Legally Blonde the other day.

They talk about Red Bull, They drink Red Bull, there's a nice neat arrangement of Red Bull cans on a shelf in Elle's room. I didn't see any mention of the product plugs in any of the reviews I read, which surprised me.

I think this is worth getting upset about. Can't they at least find something vaguely healthy to insert a commercial in a show aimed at eleven year old girls? Here's a link to an article in a recent US News and World report about the energy drink trend that includes reports of kids being hospitalized with heart palpitations from this crap.
US News article about caffeine over consumption

"I have got to have some professional music!" - Big Edie

#29

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Posted: 5/1/07 at 12:50pm

It's business! Do we have to listen to them? NO! Do we have to let our children follow in the footsteps of a ditzy blonde who drinks red bull? NO! The problem, as I see it, isn't with the so-called endorsements. It's with the people who allow themselves to let corporations decide what their basic needs are. Going to LB isn't rendering us wards of Big Brother. We do still have the free will to say "No," when someone recommends a product to us.

It's like writing "Norma Shearer for the win!" in a Joan Crawford biography.

#30

And now a scene from our sponsors

Posted: 5/1/07 at 1:05pm

The only one I remember sticking out to me was the JetBlue line. It's awkward and kind of out of place. The RedBull seemed to fit, it works because they are in college. RedBull is there to give students energy while studying, it makes perfect sense for her to have it. The JetBlue thing on the other hand just seems odd. Are you actually going to announce to someone that you flew somewhere on a particular airline? Probably not.

Other than that, I think everything fit in very well. I did a research project about a month ago on advertising in the theatre actually, and this is just the way that theatre is moving. It's sad, yes, but it's the new trend. At least it's in a fun and less-serious show where it will be less noticed, such as Legally Blonde, and not a show such as Grey Gardens where any blatant product advertising would completely interrupt the show.

"Wishes come true, not free..."

#31

And now a scene from our sponsors

Posted: 5/1/07 at 1:15pm

Elle and Emmett are rich...why would they be flying JetBlue. I'm not rich but I would certainly never fly JetBlue.

#32

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Posted: 5/1/07 at 1:19pm

You would if your life was a musical and they were the only airline that wanted to sponsor you.

I remember some Disneyesque family movie where a very well off trendy family is shown gathering around a bag of McDonald's food for dinner. Right.

"I have got to have some professional music!" - Big Edie

#33

And now a scene from our sponsors

Posted: 5/1/07 at 1:28pm

"Elle and Emmett are rich...why would they be flying JetBlue."

A lot of college students fly JetBlue, so it made sense to make them fly JetBlue.

I understand Red Bull can be a health risk, but it IS seen a lot on campuses. Even if it is a shameless product plug, it still fits in with the show.

This thread is turning more into a rant about product placements. Fact is, we are surrounded by it every day. You know that infamous red couch in the contestant's room on American Idol? Isn't there a white stripe on it? It is a subliminal product placement for Coca-Cola. Not to mention the Coca-Cola cups the judges are always drinking out of.

"It's business! Do we have to listen to them? NO! Do we have to let our children follow in the footsteps of a ditzy blonde who drinks red bull? NO! The problem, as I see it, isn't with the so-called endorsements. It's with the people who allow themselves to let corporations decide what their basic needs are. Going to LB isn't rendering us wards of Big Brother. We do still have the free will to say "No," when someone recommends a product to us."

I agree.

"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611

#34

And now a scene from our sponsors

Posted: 5/1/07 at 1:41pm

Yea, just like "Sweeney Todd" hawking Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pies!

#35

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Posted: 5/1/07 at 1:44pm

I think it's clearly true that the majority of stage productions these days lose money for their investors. In order for there to BE investors, some of these shows, obviously, have to make money, a lot of money. The worse the ratio of losers to winners the more the winners have to make. I wish I knew, other than Jersey Boys, Lion King and Wicked, which shows are more than marginally profitable on a net basis and I am intensely curious as to whether Legally Blonde will become the cash cow its 100+ investors hope it will be. If product placements help LB's bottom line, so be it.

I found another recent article which offers a bit of added insight on how modern musicals are financed. I think this stuff is fairly interesting.

http://www.portfolio.com/culture-lifestyle/culture-inc/arts/2007/03/29/Give-My-Returns-to-Broadway

#36

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Posted: 5/1/07 at 1:49pm

Don't forget to check out paulettessalon.com brought to you by Vavoom.
http://www.paulettessalon.com/

#37

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Posted: 5/1/07 at 2:02pm

" If product placements help LB's bottom line, so be it. "

I have no problem with "paulettessalon.com" or any other sort of tie-in marketing.

When product placement becomes so blatant that it detracts from the quality of the theater-going experience, that concerns me. Live theater should have higher standards than commercial television or Hollywood movies. I don't think "American Idol" with its ever present coke glasses and Ford commercials is the standard that should be applied to Broadway.

"I have got to have some professional music!" - Big Edie

#38

And now a scene from our sponsors

Posted: 5/1/07 at 2:07pm

I heard that they added the song "Our God, Oprah" to the end of TCP.

Your fupa is showing.

#39

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Posted: 5/1/07 at 2:13pm

Red Bull isn't even a sponsor of the show.

The joke is there purely because it's a popular drink for college students looking to burn the midnight oil when studying or doing projects.

I found the array of cans humorous. Lots of girls drink it as a metabolism booster, too. Not that that's smart.

I, for one, don't like Red Bull very much. But, the "ad," didn't make me want to drink it.

"I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about." - Oscar Wilde

#40

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Posted: 5/1/07 at 2:22pm

>> I think it's clearly true that the majority of stage productions these days lose money for their investors

That says more about the quality of the productions themselves than anything "product placement" might solve.

http://docandraider.com

#41

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Posted: 5/1/07 at 2:35pm

they also plug match.com

#42

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Posted: 5/1/07 at 2:45pm

People keep claiming that shilling Red Bull is realistic because they're in college. It's also realistic for a college student to have a shelf full of liquor bottles; do they show that? And very few people at my college drink Red Bull; we use Ritalin and Adderall to "burn the midnight oil" instead. Does that mean it's okay to promote that on a Broadway show targetting teenage girls as well?

Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how

#43

And now a scene from our sponsors

Posted: 5/1/07 at 3:20pm

I think Andy Karl's entrance as the UPS guy always gets a thunderous laugh so that placement doesnt bother me at all.

The Red Bull is somewhat less humorous but Christian Borle is just too cute with his high kick when hes all hyper on the drink.

#44

And now a scene from our sponsors

Posted: 5/1/07 at 3:21pm

I don't get what all the fuss is about. Red Bull is just an energy drink that-believe me-lots of college kids drink. In order to make the college atmosphere believable, they're surrounding college student characters with typical aspects of college life. To me, this makes the experience better; I always enjoy it when I see a character do something and I can be like 'hey, i've done that'. Obviously they're not going to show Elle involved with alcohol and drugs because those things are not just unsafe, they are for much of the target audience illegal. And besides, any self-respecting college student, whether they're of age or not, knows to hide their liquor bottles and not keep them in plain sight on the shelf :)

#45

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Posted: 5/1/07 at 3:23pm

I think that people in ordinary conversation do mention specific products or services--they do not mention generic, made up names such as XYZ University instead of saying Harvard, which has probably the most elite law school in the USA. The same goes with mentioning Jet Blue. People might mention the airline they traveled on. It's just more realistic. I remember back to the original episodes of "All in the Family" in the 1970's when Archie would have a beer and the can would be shown with paper covering the beer can so that the audience wouldn't know what brand he was drinking. It was ridiculous. Bring on Red Bull! This is theatre, not a babysitting service for Teens.

Incidentally, I have attended concerts in England where the printed program will have a sponsor's name boldly printed on the title page. And what about the Hilton Theatre, the American Airlines Theatre and the Cadillac Winter Garden? If that's what it takes to help fund the Broadway theatre, so be it, annoying as that may be to people.

"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"

Updated On: 5/1/07 at 03:23 PM

#46

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

Why are they bothersome to you? Looking for things to gripe much? I mean, think about the show as a whole.. it's one pop culture reference/jab after another.. everything from Sixth sense to the Apprentice. Can they not make jabs at the trendiest airlines and energy drinks? Only the trendy tv shows and quotes? Why is the UPS thing 'product placcemment? It's VERY specific to one of the major things people remember in the movie.... people know that character.. and Jerry plays it to the hilt. The box with the label is a build up to his grand entrance. So what?

I can't believe people are griping that a show set in the present day (I like that they dont say the specific year) has characters using real life products and poking fun at our culture of quotes, tag lines, and trends. It's part of the humor in the show. If there is anything to upset about in BLONDE, it is having, as one of my favorite review quotes said, a leading lady with the star wattage of an energy bar.

#47

And now a scene from our sponsors

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

The match.com joke was put in by Heather Hatch, because that is where she found her second husband.

it did not faze me at all when i saw LB. I do not think they do it in a throw it in your face way. I agree with Gypsy though.

Way to go LB top 10 theater events...your doing great.

for fierce, fabulous and fun times visit eric mathew's world. http://ericmathew.blogspot.com/

#48

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Posted: 5/1/07 at 5:14pm

I'm not entirely sure Tech is serious. Pop culture humor is one of the things this show's script thrives on. It's pretty apparent.

-Benjamin
--http://www.benjaminadgate.com/

#49

And now a scene from our sponsors

Posted: 5/1/07 at 5:53pm

One more thing on this subject. # 1 look at your own kitchen,bathroom etc on any given day. #2 and once long ago we went to a Hard Rock cafe and my ex said he refused to pay "good" money I believe was how it was phrased, to advertise for a place. seems that from chanel to john deere it is everywhere and we usually PAY for it. think about it.

#50

And now a scene from our sponsors

Posted: 5/1/07 at 7:55pm

Some of this stuff sounds a little iffy, but as for Red Bull, it's not a matter of making it realistic, but ratherthat the joke lands better with a brand name, and the Red Bull can has a distinctive design that looks funny displayed in large amounts in a college dorm.

I'd guess. I haven't seen that show.

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