product placement – The Animation Anomaly

Yes, They Somehow Placed A Mazda Into The Lorax

Soooo, you remember when I discussed the “green” marketing for The Lorax? You don’t? It was only last wee…. oh never mind, how about this video below then?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrvg33vkdFI

Yes, it’s The Lorax, with……a Mazda!

And this is much more than a commercial, for, according to Autoblog, the CX-5 has a starring role in the upcoming film as well!

So along the lines of my first post; is this appropriate, or even a good idea?

Mazda is claiming the car has “Skyactiv” green credentials, but as one of the commentators points out, that’s really just a marketing name for technologies that are already present in many modern cars.

So the link between the two properties is a weak one, but certainly the pairing of a car company and Dr. Seuss has gone well before, right?

So we have a film that’s animated, a car company with no real green credentials (we’re still waiting for a true Mazda hybrid) and a story that’s all about environmentalism but has supposedly been altered just enough that that’s not the emphasis.

Hmmm, I have my doubts.

In the meantime, here’s an example of an animation/auto combination that most certainly makes more sense:

Yes, it’s Misato Katsuragi and her Renault Alpine A310; a Porsche 911 for the more independently minded driving enthusiast and that suits her down to a T.

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Today’s Post Brought to You By Glagnar’s Human Rinds

Yes, the title is a reference to Futurama, as the image above implies.

Here’s a question for you to ponder: live-action films are stuffed to the gills with advertising, so much so, that each crew normally includes a person whose sole job is to ensure that no brand makes they’re way into a film unless they are meant to be there.

It’s a bit crazy isn’t it? Yet such paid product placement helps cover the rather large cost of these films. What’s interesting though, is that you hardly ever see such product placement in animated films.

Sure, you see references to brands all the time, but rarely any explicit mention of one.

It’s a topic I’d like to elaborate on further, and I will, once I see Morgan Spurlock’s new documentary, POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.

If you have any thoughts about it now, feel free to add them below. 🙂