And Here You Thought You Were Just Being Entertained…

Have you ever watched American Idol and noticed that the judges are always sipping soda from ginormous Coca Cola cups? Or maybe you’ve seen an episode of The Biggest Loser and noticed that the trainers go from talking about cooking healthy to suddenly pitching the virtues of a brand of ziploc bag that allows you to steam your veggies to perfection. In the hit comedy 30 Rock, the characters are over-the-top in their endorsement of Verizon, and in an episode of 90210, Dixon once turned to Annie and said, “Maybe if you stopped drinking so much Dr. Pepper!” to which Annie replies (while holding up a can of Dr. Pepper), “We’re on a road trip! Drinking Dr. Pepper is practically a requirement.”

What I’ve just described is called product placement. It’s the “new” way of advertising since companies are having a harder time getting audiences to notice their products in traditional commercials thanks to TIVO, HULU, On Demand, and the like. And it’s this type of advertising that is explored in the just-released documentary, POM Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.

The film was directed by Morgan Spurlock (the guy behind the film Supersize Me – another must see), who takes us deep into the marketing machine for film and television to show the viewers just how much “selling” goes on behind the scenes of everything we see on screen. The movie makes the case that pretty much everything is for sale when it comes to finding ways to advertise a product.

By the end of the film, Morgan has secured sponsorship from more than a dozen brands, including those you can see tattooed on his body in the movie poster here. In exchange for financially backing the film ($25,000 for a small mention to $1 million for the name sponsor, in this case, POM Wonderful, a pomegranate juice), Morgan promises to promote the products throughout the film. For example, he only wears clothes from sponsor Old Navy, drives the official movie car, a Mini Cooper, and exclusively drinks POM Wonderful.

The result is a funny, eye-opening film which sheds light on how advertisers and marketers try to get at us, the buyer, in any way possible. It’s a great reminder that as viewers, it’s our responsibility to realize that we are constantly being marketed to, courted, and manipulated in advertisers’ attempts to get us to buy their products.

So definitely see this film if it comes to your town…it’s worth the watch and I guarantee, you’ll never look at a movie or TV the same way again! (And that’s a good thing!)

PS… don’t believe me that everything is for sale? The small town of Altoona, PA has sold its naming rights to the film. For the next 60 days, Altoona, PA is now officially “POM Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, PA”!

PPS…Here’s the trailer for the movie in case you’re interested in learning more (and no, I was not paid to endorse this movie!):

POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold Trailer from POM Wonderful on Vimeo.