http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8252901.stm

It's a laugh that:





Ever seen Spooks? And there's more Macbooks around some BBC broadcasts than the average Apple store

Either that's blatant product placement, or taxpayers' money is being severely misused (I'm talking about where any laptop would have the same inherent 'visual effect' for a story or piece to camera)

Spooks only use Macs because that's what they use in 24, and no one involved in the production has any amount of originality.

That's because the media types & journalists get discounts from Apple - many of them what the Inquirer and the Register call "tame hacks", but I can understand now why they use them. If I was going to bolt together a bit of video-based journalism/propaganda, iMovie or Finalcut would be my program of choice.

Metal Gear Solid 4 was full of Apple products too!

Every new (American) film and US TV series I've seen in the last 2 years has had Apple equipment in too. I'm guessing Apple must pay out a fortune to get their products placed.

TV shows and the like have set dressers and they have a remit in any scene. If you want the set to look like a high tech lab, you get props that look high tech. And while Apple kit in general isn't any more high tech than anyone elses, it does look more high tech than most. Particularly the Macbook Air and the iMac which both fit the remit more than a standard Dell notebook or Optiplex desktop PC, for example. Plus there is the factor that if the high tech lab had the same computer as you had on your desk at work, that's kind of going to break the suspension of disbelief.

You see some Sony bits here and there and I'd actually expect that new Dell premium laptop to show up as well but in the end of it, all TV props are about looks, and Apple is one of the companies that design it's product much more with 'looks' in mind than say Acer. That and it's relative rarety in the real world make it a good 'prop' for TV shows.

Jon

Last time I watched 24, they were using Dells - all the Macs had gone. Maybe they got them back?

What I really hate are the programmes that use a bit of kit (whether it be Apple, Dell, HP or whatever) and they put a sticker or a bit of duck tape over the logo on the product...

It makes the products stand out even more than if they left them as standard... If you see the tape, it actually makes you think about the product being used, as opposed to ignoring it.

Last time I watched 24, they were using Dells with UNIX on them, never saw 24 with Macs, but I only watched the first 3 or 4, before getting bored.

I recall in smallville, all the laptop and computer logos (all apple) had post-it notes covering the logo. I found it hilarious but I still don't like blatant advertising. It just makes me despise a product even more.

One of the funniest shows I've seen for weird product placement rules is Pimp My Ride. Sometimes they'll block the logo's of various companies - including the garage doing the work - but later in the same episode they'll leave them in. Make up your minds.

I would always prefer product placement if it meant that the 15 minute commercial breaks in the middle of a programme were avoided. They go on so long it is easy to forget what you were watching - at least it is for me, brain getting a bit fragmented.

In all honesty, does anyone give a bubble if a show is using a MacBook? Or a Dell? Or even a character drinking from a Coke can? Because I sure as hell don't, if the other companies don't like it, raise your bid to be used in the program then!

I actually like it when TV programmes/films use real products, it makes them more realistic.

Gav, this keeps being trotted out, but I've never met a single member of those professions who have made use of it.
All the media types I know of have either paid for their machine out of their hard earned, or the firm's bought it for them.
At least a couple of the media types I know haven't gone to Intel yet, in fact.

Education establishments get quite good discounts (Higher Ed something close to 20%). There's no policy for other industries as far as I know, although I'd imagine you could get some if you haggle with your reseller.

Jon

Clicky

If they are not using the discount, I'd be a bit concerned about their investigative skills!