12 Comments

Very interesting observations. You've inspired me to pay more attention to the smaller details than I usually do. Thanks, Bill.

Expand full comment

Love the concept of how many product placements can be spotted in one scene! I also wonder about the inadvertent negative "product" placements, particularly settings for TVs and movies. Will the Ozarks and Albuquerque ever recover from their depiction in the show Ozark and Breaking Bad?

Expand full comment

How much did these companies pay for product placement in Rule of Three?

Expand full comment
author

I hear you - I see what you’re angling for - I’ll connect you with one of our Product Placement Sales professionals - we’ll have you splattered all over Rule of Three in no time. . .and, at a very reasonable cost.

Expand full comment
Feb 3Liked by Bill Southern

Has to be Mr. Clean. He payed my rent for a while then…

Expand full comment
Feb 3Liked by Bill Southern

Well done, Rule of Three, as usual! Being the caring person that I am, I am compelled to point out that the Cincinnati-based soap maker is spelled Proct-E-R & Gamble. As I was told continuously during my time in advertising (when I was blessed to have this CPG behemoth as a client), it’s spelled E-R because “our products are always better, cleaner, faster, nicer, etc.er.”

Who knew that Cincinnati was such a competitive place?

Expand full comment
author

Dave: Thanks for setting me straight on P&G - I was distracted by the Mentos-Coke explosion. What is your favorite P&G product? Mine is Ivory Soap (99-44/100% pure).

Expand full comment

Ah, the white Bronco. The Scarlet Letter of product placement. I will never forget watching that drama in real time. And I’m not alone, obviously. Did not know the Reese’s Pieces story. It just seemed like a quirky choice. Do not feel at all sorry for Mars, Inc. I’m wondering if they would have made a different choice if they’d been pitched with the extraterrestrial angle? Or maybe they were, but someone just didn’t pick up the phone. (Sorry!)

I’m eternally grateful for the company’s quick response to the Tylenol poisonings. Whenever I struggle with a medicine bottle, I think of the potential alternative. I may curse and holler first, but that incident is embedded in my brain.

Thanks for sharing this, Bill.

Expand full comment
author

E.T. Was relatively early in Spielberg’s career, and Mars thought the alien story was too bizarre. And, living in Chicago at the time of the Tylenol poisonings, I remember the fear everyone felt - I agree with you - I value the tamper-proof packaging.

Expand full comment

That Tylenol incident is just about the most frightening thing ever. I can only imagine how scary it was, living within close proximity to the murders.

I guess the idea of the alien/child connection was kind of bizarre at the time. Maybe even creepy. I remember watching Duel the first time it was shown in 1971 (!) on broadcast TV. Electrifying. It was like seeing The Birds. So Spielberg was on my radar for a very long time. I still see that movie as a classic exercise in tension and terror. Maybe someone at Mars did as well, and what candy company wants to be forever associated with trauma?

You are really taking me down memory lane here. Now I have to go write about other stuff. As they say, thanks for the memories. And the Mentos. (Sorry!)

Maybe my next post isn’t entirely unrelated.

Expand full comment
author

I remember seeing Duel a long time ago - a great movie - Dennis Weaver (and, not much else) - quite frightening.

Expand full comment
Feb 3Liked by Bill Southern

Some funny memories. Have not seen all those movies but love Manolos.

Expand full comment