You Look Like You Need a Guinness

prestidigital writes "This is a great fictional advertisement (high bandwidth) for Guinness. I say "fictional" because it is from the movie Minority Report. You may recall that Steven Spielberg is known for heavy branding in movies ala the opening scenes from Back to the Future (Burger King and Pepsi plastered all over). Well, apparently he has taken it a step further by weaving it into the very fabric of the plot in Minority Report. Cool ads if you can afford to wait for them. Lexus is good."

Comments

Personal Ads?

[OutRigged]

I don't know about anyone else.. But personally, I'd hate having an advertisement call me by name. Or advertisements that scan my eyes, and track me.

How about walking into a store, and having a big ad greet you? I don't think so.

Anyone agree?

Re:Personal Ads?

[Anonymous Coward]

I dislike current aggressive advertising, even if it is not directed towards me personally.

Considering what a long tradition pushy and loud advertising (as well as salespeople) seem to have, there must be a target group that responds to this type of thing.

In fact, maybe I'm a freak, because I consider all of the methods of influencing people suggested by Dale Carnegie obnoxious. Then again, I'm not an American, and I find typical American social customs extermely uncomfortable, so it may be a cultural thing.

While I hate the privacy implications of targeted advertising, at least it would keep advertising directed towards me subtle and informative.

Manipulating the mindless masses

[Anonymous Coward]

If advertising is really about 'informing' the public to make 'rational' decisions, then why do advertises need to:

1) Employ psychologists who don't have an ounce of ethics in them
2) Have music in their adverts
3) Advertise over and over again when we all already know about their product
4) Spend double-digit percentages of their company's money on advertising
5) Have little in the way of actual information in their adverts, and instead just try and sell an image

The reality is, people are ignorant and highly controllable. Society is a socio-economic machine; there is no rationality nor any real understanding of how it works. Each individual mindlessly functions in relation to the little corner which they face on a day to day basis, and will decieve themselves into accepting and doing whatever they're tricked or pushed into thinking will make them personally more secure.

"Microsoft". Need I say more.

Re:Manipulating the mindless masses

[Sycraft-fu]

Ah ha, we have yet another master-of-the-BLINDINGLY-obvious AC. Yes, Sherlock, ads are about pimping a particular product and NOT about providing true and accurate information to the public. What tipped you off?

Look up advertising in the dictionary some time: "to call public attention to especially by emphasizing desirable qualities so as to arouse a desire to buy or patronize". Hell, even ad agencies don't pretend like they are trying to spread the truth or inform the public. They know what they are doing: selling products.

As to the rest of your rant, take a psychology class or three.

It amazes me that this sort of thing gets modded up.

Re:Manipulating the mindless masses

[miffo.swe]

Much of Microsofts success lies in the fact that when all other was focusing their advertising towards the techies Microsoft went to the PHB's. Since the PHB's know sh*t about computers they are much easier to trick. Brainwashing works best to implant ideas and urges when the recipient is not aware of the product or service.

Wow, way to 'date' a movie.

[Anonymous Coward]

In 50 years, at least half of the companies listed won't even exist any more, and anyone looking back at Minority Report will laugh at its childish view of the future. Once again, we're doing what they did in the 50s-80s, and expecting that the future will be all advanced, we'll have hovercars, video projections everywhere, etc.. I mean, see Back to the Future II. That was considered 'realistic' at the time, but it's just a piece of crap that we laugh at now.

In another 50 years when Pepsi is called Hypermegaglobaldrink and Lexus are the cheapest brandname on the planet, we'll have a good old laugh, just like we do at PanAm being in '2001'.

Who cares

[nemesisj]

I personally LIKE it when a movie set in our time period and our world uses branding on its set. Which one is more believable "Mom, I'm going down to the drugstore to buy a Super-Duper-Cola" or "Mom, I'm going down to the drugstore to buy a Coke"? Using fake brands in movies breaks my suspension of disbelief and annoys me. Same goes for video games.

I don't know about you...

[Sc00ter]

But I like the ads in the film for one reason. It makes the film more realistic. I'd much rather see them Burger King then a Bobs Burger Wold, or drinking a Pepsi rather then a pepsi can with the word Pepsi removed and Soda put in it's place.

Shoudn't submitters have Karma?

[Mulletproof]

Look ma! Advertisements seemlessly woven into movies! This really is News for Nerds, Stuff that matters!! Slow news day, Michael?

Just so it isn't totally off-topic, seen the new singular wireless commercials? Shamu? MiB2 worms? I think they're opening up a new trend in cross brand commercialization... Surely I can submit that as a story and it will get accepted. Nah...

Re:Ads are proof of Spielberg's fear....

[dontkillme]

I seem to be in the minority (haha) here... but I like product placement in movies as was done in Minority report. I also liked the placement of Atari etc in blade runner. I think that the placement of ads as was done in Minority Report not only gives us an interesting view of the future, but gives people from our future a glimpse into our views of the future (got it?).

Taco Bell in Demolition Man

[Animats]

Even worse, the export version of the film had a different restaurant chain, because Taco Bell is US only.

Minority Reports, but no Minority Focus Groups

[laxian]

Luckily for the companies in the movie, they only had to advertise to one group: "White Americans" ... because aside from the Token Black Cop(tm) (one male and one female), and a few people in the crowd (a few Asians here and there and couple of other dark skinned folk).

I found it strange that Washington D.C. of all places ... one well known for its large black population and its folks from other races would have 99% white people in it. Take a look for yourself, around the pool, in the mall, in the cars, in the jail, everywhere public ... white people.

Go ahead and make up scenarios for yourself to explain this phenomenon.