Four Starring Roles
Music videos have become a mecca for brands interested in a fast turnaround, and extremely high viewership. Not only do they offer great exposure, but based on an artist's past success, you can relatively gauge exactly what the viewership potential is. And it doesn't break the bank. Brand categories like cars and alcohol have been prevalent in music for decades, however more and more less obvious brands are making their way onto that Youtube and Vevo link, and not always so organically.
A recent music video to catch our attention is Britney Spears’ hit ‘Make Me.’ In between shots of her insanely toned, circa-2001 body and equally impressive topless men, there were four brands that received prominent exposure. In this blog, Hollywood Branded takes a deeper look at the product placement in Britney Spear's 'Make Me' music video - and what worked.
While four isn’t necessarily a large number of brands, the brands that did make it in received very prominent and, sometimes, not so organic exposure.
Here’s how the four companies appeared in the video.
BMW
The first brand we see is BMW. Britney, we assume playing herself, arrives at an audition in a tricked out Beemer. The sports car receives a few seconds of insert shots as she’s seen driving around and then a great beauty shot of its switchblade doors as Spears exits the vehicle.
Just when we think we’ve seen the last of it, the car makes one of a few rather strange branded appearances in the music video as it just randomly appears on a TV screen outside of the audition.
EOS Lip Balm
The next brand to debut is eos lip balm. The brand receives seemingly forced, but still phenomenal exposure in not just one, but three different scenes in the 5-minute video. The first is a close-up hands-on shot of Spears applying the lip balm. The placement is typical of eos products (see our Miley Cyrus blog) and fits in fairly well with the tone of the video; while it looks sponsored it’s not obvious.
However, eos' second placement, while prominent, looks a tad out of place. It happens about a quarter of the way through when, similar to the last BMW sighting, the eos lip balm and logo suddenly appear on this TV placed outside of the audition. Again, the placement is clear and memorable, but its blatant appearance has been a bit off-putting for fans.
Also similar to the BMW placement, just when you think you’ve seen enough of the beauty brand, Britney ends the video with a classic sultry application of the lip balm.
Orange Theory Fitness
The third brand to make its way into ‘Make Me’ is the workout chain Orange Theory Fitness. The gym appears yet again, on this strange TV set-up, as a commercial for the brand within the music video. One article called it a “bizarrely prominent marketing placement.”
While this placement easily took the cake for the most out of place, it almost works because it’s the one that resonated with us the most. While we think it makes Spears look a little shameless in her brand partnerships, it really works for the brand because it’s so out there that it makes it the most memorable. We assume A LOT of people checked out Orange Theory Fitness's website after this video integration.
Sony TV
The final brand to grace us with their presence is the most organic and could be easily missed to the untrained eye. It is the SONY TV’s that all of these interesting promos are featured on. SONY’s appearance is no surprise as Spears’ record label is RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.
We definitely agree that everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. We will also certainly argue that some of the placements here are a bit abrasive and overtly in your face. While this doesn’t necessarily work for Spears’ reputation, it isn’t all that bad for the brands. This video clearly got us talking about them. While there are alternative ways to integrate your brand into musical content, ultimately these placements left us thinking about the companies well after the final chorus.
We admit it. We even went as far as to look up membership fees and locations of Orange Theory Fitness, and after all, isn’t that kind of engagement they paid for? (the answer is a resounding yes!)
Ready To Get Your Brand In A Music Video?
Have you ever wondered how a comprehensive product placement program works? Or do you want to know how to create a promotional partnership strategy with a movie partner? This video will answer all of your questions as it shows the steps and processes taken by Hollywood Branded that lead to your brand increasing both consumer engagement and sales!
