If you know me personally, then you know I’m a rabid movie buff – from the vintage classic films with Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy, Bogart, Karloff and Lugosi to the thrilling James Bond series right on up to the colorful superhero epics from Marvel with Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man and The Avengers. In fact, I couldn’t be more excited to see the upcoming 2019 adventures of Captain Marvel and Avengers Endgame, concluding the astounding 22-movie story arc with Thanos and the powerful Infinity stones.
And you are probably thinking… umm… okay, Rickster, what on EARTH does this have to do with promotional products? Why are we taking this nostalgic detour?? Hang in there, True Believer, I’m getting there!
The final theatrical trailer for Marvel’s Captain Marvel was released last month and features Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) returning from space in this first female-led superhero film, partnering up with Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) before he got his eye-patch and becomes the Director of The Avengers Initiative. That’s because this flashback film takes place in the 1990’s but ultimately leads into Avengers Endgame, coming in April.
In one sequence in Captain Marvel’s preview, Nick Fury is wearing a baseball cap with an embroidered logo on it. Specifically, it’s a logo for the fictional government organization S.H.I.E.L.D. Captain Marvel asks what that imprint on his cap is, and Nick replies proudly, “It’s a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo!” She frowns and wryly replies, “Does announcing your identity on clothing help with the covert part of your job?” It’s a funny moment because Nick Fury is the ultimate spy but he’s so darn pleased with his branded apparel, he can’t resist wearing it out in the field.
This got me to thinking about promotional products in the movies and on television and how what we do for a living has been depicted in popular culture. Now, I’m NOT talking about Product Placement in movies, which is a very different thing. That is where we see real-life merchandise on screen because corporate America has paid the studios HUGE bucks to use their stuff instead of generic brands. The most famous examples of this are the Ray Bans worn by Tom Cruise in Risky Business, the Aston Martin driven by almost every incarnation of James Bond going back to Goldfinger and those delicious little Reese’s Pieces that E.T. nibbles on as he waddles into Elliot’s house.
No, I’m talking about actual promotional products as depicted on television and in movies, promoting fictional businesses and organizations and presenting what we do in a positive and fun way. Our industry is so often berated in the media or on the news as ‘trinkets and trash’ or as the first budgets that are slashed in an economic crises – that I’m interested in examples of what we do presented on screen in a positive fashion that we can take pride in and even bring up to our clients in conversation.
Captain Marvel isn’t out yet, so it will be fun to see if Nick Fury also has a S.H.I.E.L.D. jacket or t-shirt or other items to go along with his embroidered ball cap.
Another example that I’ll note here especially since I know that PromoCorner President Bill Petrie is such a huge fan of the series is The Office. Throughout that hilarious show which starred Steve Carrell as Michael Scott, we saw Dunder Mifflin coffee mugs and Sabre drinkware and thermoses and, most infamously, the Dwight Schrute bobblehead.
There are many more, but let’s hear from YOU! I want to do a follow-up article on this rootin’ tootin’ topic with YOUR notable examples of promotional products used in motion pictures or television shows in a positive way – please email me at rick.greene@halo.com and I’ll compile our Promo on the Silver Screen examples for next month! Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful article. Or, a beautiful sequel…
Rick Greene, MAS, is the Western Regional Vice President for Halo Branded Solutions, a Past President of SAAC, on the PPB Editorial Advisory Board and the author of two fantasy novels entitled “Boofalo!” and “Shroom!” available at www.amazon.com. His third book is a non-fiction biography of movie character actor Henry Brandon called “Henry Brandon King Of The Bogeymen” published by BearManor Media and available everywhere fine books are sold.