Advertisements Hidden In Media

By Gianna Nichols

So many Americans spend most of their time looking at a screen. Whether it’s scrolling on social media, watching a movie or television show, or even working, much of our time is spent on the media. This means less time going out, less time shopping in stores, and less time buying the products so many producers influence us to buy. As a result of this, advertising has started to become sneaky. Advertisements have been around for years, often found playing between episodes of television shows or different scenes of a movie. After society slowly started to switch to streaming rather than cable, many streaming services started to incorporate more advertisements within their apps. Not only does this benefit the producers of these products, but they allow the owners of these streaming companies to create new, more expensive, plans without advertisements for their companies, essentially making them more money. It has also been noticed that many social media apps such as Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest have started to incorporate more advertisements to influence consumers to buy products. Despite this all, many secret advertisements go unnoticed.

When watching a popular show or movie, have you ever noticed a product snuck into multiple scenes throughout? This is often something the main protagonist and other characters seem to enjoy. The public can see some of their favorite characters enjoying the product, which influences them to try it themselves. These are called hidden advertisements or product placement. Many companies use these hidden advertisements to influence their consumers to continue buying their products, and often pay the producers of said show or movie for product placement within their produced media. A few examples that you may have or may not have noticed are the Coca-Cola products and Eggo products seen in Stranger Things, and the Nike brand in Space Jam. Some are more obvious than others such as LEGO in The Lego Movie, but they are just as significant nonetheless. These hidden advertisements are always placed within the media and should not be confused with partnerships you would see outside of the media such as themed McDonalds meals or perhaps movie or television show themed items at your favorite clothing stores. Product placement has been part of advertising for years, long before the use of streaming had started to become popularized. What makes streaming so significant to the use of product placement is that it creates an array of opportunities for these companies to create new ways of product placement through streaming.

According to the National Library of Medicine, the concept of product placement has become so significant that regulations have been put in place in certain countries. While in the United Kingdom a “PP” marker will show up on screen to indicate product placement is being used, the United States is much more lax and has nothing like this to indicate the influence of consumers. After asking my peers if they have noticed these hidden advertisements many of them explained they hadn’t paid enough attention to notice. On the other hand, one of my peers, a fellow college student said “I have noticed these ads in many of the shows I watch. I am not easily influenced by advertisements, but these hidden ads could cause more harm than good for those that are easily influenced, especially to their bank accounts.” I suppose they are right, as this is what the product placements are meant for, specifically to influence people to buy their products. Younger individuals are often more easily influenced by advertisements, which is why knowing about these hidden advertisements are so important. Having the knowledge of product placement in your favorite show can prevent someone from giving in and buying the product without realizing they have been influenced by an ad. Next time you watch your favorite movie or show, try to be more conscious about the different products you are seeing on screen and think to yourself whether or not it may be a hidden advertisement.