Product Placements

Movies, shows, and books are suppose to serve as a form of escapism from the real world into an alternative world of our own. However, that illusion is broken the moment a product placement of a brand irl is either shown or mentioned in these mediums. It really bothers me that these product placements are suppose to give us an indication that these stories in movies, shows, and books take place in the real world and not in their own alternative worlds using products that parody said real products. Instead of McDonald's, why can't it be something like Farmer Crow Burgers, instead of M&M's, why can't it be something like Choconuts, and instead of the Brady Bunch, why can't it be something like "One Big Happy Family?"

Are you guys sick of seeing product placements in your mediums, or do you just not care about the illusion being broken in what's suppose to be a fictional version of our own world?

Too much is bad, yeah, but sometimes seeing a lot of "Brand X" instead of a real-world brand breaks the illusion, too. Depends on the kind of show/movie. Something serious would feel off with a "MacDonnie" burger or anything that would immediately remind you of the real thing.

I don't mind product placement in fictional entertainment works, as long as it's not done excessively. Placing real-life products in scripted entertainment does give such stories a sense of 'realism' if done correctly.

One instance of product placement I can't stand, though, is how every TV show and movie that has scenes of somebody working with a desktop or laptop computer almost always depicts Apple products.

Product placement, of course, is nothing new-this phenomenon has been going on with TV shows and movies for decades. One example from the golden era of television I can think of is Studebaker vehicles being featured in the sitcom Mister Ed. Wilbur Post (played by the late Alan Young) and Ed even did commercials for Studebaker (which went out of business by the time Mister Ed's run ended), including this one below:

Esper said:

Too much is bad, yeah, but sometimes seeing a lot of "Brand X" instead of a real-world brand breaks the illusion, too. Depends on the kind of show/movie. Something serious would feel off with a "MacDonnie" burger or anything that would immediately remind you of the real thing.

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At least it gives the audience a message that it does not take place in our actual world and instead an alternative real world with substitutes (for copyright reasons).

I rarely notice product placement unless it's blatantly incongruous with the setting of the movie/show. Although I find it more noticeable when there's a purposely nameless piece of tech shoved in, I kind of like it as a whole.

I really don't mind, for movies or shows or games that are supposed to seem like they're set in our real world. There aaare definitely examples of it going too far though.......... such as with Ray Ban or Apple in the latest Doctor Who seasons ._. if that wasn't paid product placement, then it's just weirdly written.

When it comes to product placement in certain things, I am a bit mixed on a few things. Here are a couple of examples of product placement I have noticed in Final Fantasy XV:

Coleman brand camping gear
American Express shown in the gas station store windows