Apple And The Boob Tube

Rick Zeman writes "The Washington Post talks about Apple's success in product placement in television shows. While 'Apple said it does not pay for product placement and would not discuss how its products make their way into television and films' television viewers are treated to the view and use of Apple products in such shows as 24, Sex and the City, and this year's biggie, The Office. Also from the article: '"Apple is the brand of people who are creative," said Lucian James, president of Agenda Inc., a brand consulting firm. "Where they are using Apple is sort of suggesting artistic-ness."'"

Comments

Obviously for the benefit of the masses

[Bombula]

I wouldn't say film and television uses Apple to suggest "artistic-ness" so much as intelligence and sophistication.

Which of course means that what they should be using are hacked XBOX 360s running Linux...

Re:Obviously for the benefit of the masses

[marimbaman]

I wouldn't say film and television uses Apple to suggest "artistic-ness" so much as intelligence and sophistication. Which of course means that what they should be using are hacked XBOX 360s running Linux...

Er, wouldn't that be suggesting living-in-parents'-basement-ness?

From TFA

[Space cowboy]

Indeed, actors on [The Office]'s drab workplace set do not use snazzy Apple computers, but rather black, generic desktop PCs.

Of course, for Apple, that works too...

Simon.

Free product

[nacturation]

Sure, maybe not *paying* for product placement but a truckload of notebooks and Cinema displays loaned to the studio for the season could be expected to find their way into scenes now and again?

Re:Free product

[moosesocks]

This is pretty normal operating procedure from what I understand.

Everybody wins. The studio gets free props, and Apple gets free advertising. If anything, it works out better for apple, as they get free advertising.

That said, I think that apple products get chosen by the set designers simply because they're the most stylish/fashionible. If you want a futuristic, high-tech set (ie. 24), Apple's the way to go. It's their job to make the set look good.

MovieOS

[TheSHAD0W]

I bet they have coders all set up to make their computers display what they need to, as props; while if the studios used X86 they'd have to hire their own coders. It's important for the computers to be able to blink "PASSWORD DENIED" in red, and then "password accepted!" followed by the super-secret information fuzzing in with neat video effects.

Re:MovieOS

[gEvil (beta)]

Speaking of, has anyone ever created some version of MovieOS that we can use to wow our non-technical friends and family? I'm talking about all the "Password Denied" and "Accepted" messages, along with the slight tick-tick-tick as each character is printed to the screen. And then throw an image zoom function in there, too. Have it load up a really really hi-res image, but display it at like 200x300 and really fuzzy. As you zoom in, it just magically keeps on getting crisper and crisper, giving that MovieOS illusion of infinite-zoom. Now that's an open source project I'd be willing to donate my money to...

Re:MovieOS

[Bogtha]

Don't forget if you are searching for something, it needs to flash up each and every record in the database until it finds the one you want.

I can't wait until Google supports this killer feature.

Set dressing

[vought]

I'm lucky enough to have known a couple of set dressers for popular television shows introduced over the past decade. We never spoke specifically about Apple products, but she (both of them) had iBooks, a cube at home, etc.

Decorating a TV set is pretty complicated. You don't show brand names unless they're paying for it (and you must hide those brands from all camera angles), but you want to encourage a feeling of familiarity for the viewer, so you end up with stuff like a half-turned Coke(TM) can that has a malformed "ribbon device" to avoid the trademark police. Regardless, you always display products that the viewer will find familiar - hence the avocado-green washer and dryer on That 70's show. That godawful combo isn't there because it's pretty, but it is a clear indicator of when the show occurs, and a nod to the life and times the show is set in.

Apple is pretty unique in that they don't have to pay, but you'll notice that rarely is the Apple logo shown on TV shows that place Apple products. Apple knows that their industrial design is enough to get them placed in shows that want to show progressive, forward-thinking office environments or creative, flip characters.

You see racks of Dell servers on "24", but you never see the word Dell, either - and I'd bet you my neck on a block it's because XServes just don't have big enough blue LEDs and blinky lights - and because Dell's servers are, oddly enough, among their best looking products.

Apple products just look better on camera, full of artful, swooping designs that are utilitarian enough for everyday use, but futuristic enough for TV's trendsetting set dressers.

Re:Set dressing

[1u3hr]

You don't show brand names unless they're paying for it (and you must hide those brands from all camera angles), but you want to encourage a feeling of familiarity for the viewer, so you end up with stuff like a half-turned Coke(TM) can that has a malformed "ribbon device" to avoid the trademark police.

I'm sure this is a common policy, just to avoid hassle, but it has little basis in law. How on earth could Coca-cola complain about a character drinking a can of coke? The trademark is firmly attached to the actual product they sell. There is no passing off implied. So there is no trademark issue.

Some of the shows with more ballsy management just use whatever real products make sense. For instance, in the Sopranos a couple of years ago, Tony was in a death struggle with a guy and sprayed him in the face with a can of Raid, with the label prominently visible. Then he smashed his head on the floor and dismembered him in the bath. Is there any possibility that the company would have allowed that if they had the power to deny it? And in the movies, consider Supersize Me. McDonalds products and trademarks used in every scene, most certainly without permission. Shows avoid trademarked goods more because they don't want conflict with paid product placement and advertising.

Computers Used by Movie Editors

[yintercept]

One explanation is that Apple might simply be the computer used by movie editors. If I were making a movie; I would be inclined to use the computer equipment I use in my business life on screen. If I use an Apple computer to edit the films, I would be apt to place an Apple in the film.

Apple could get placement simply by making sure that people in the movie industry have Apples ... either through gifting product and service or extremely low prices.

What?

[ScrewMaster]

Apple is the brand of people who are creative.

Baloney. I'm not knocking Apple products ... but from a marketing perspective Apple is the brand for people that are willing to pay a premium for their personal computers in order to suggest that they, themselves, have some degree of "artistic-ness", or at least style. Yes yes, many Mac users are artists or graphic designers or what-have-you, but people such as that purchased their equipment on its merits and have no need to impress anyone with "hey, look at me I have a Mac so I must be artistic!" For me, a computer is a box that sits on the floor and should remain as inconspicuous as possible, since I'm not trying to make any kind of statement with my choice of computer system. I make that statement with the quality of my work, regardless of the platform I happen to be working on at any given time.

Re:What?

[shmlco]

"Yes yes, many Mac users are artists or graphic designers or what-have-you, but people such as that purchased their equipment on its merits and have no need to impress anyone..."

To quote, "Baloney." Keep in mind that artists and graphic designers happen to be the exact same types who'd appreciate Apple's elegant lines and strong industrial design.

I have an Apple Powerbook, and I bought it not because it makes a statement to others, but because it works, works well, and I enjoy using it. I love solid well crafted tools, and I hate the flimsy creaky cheap plastic crap that other manufacturers pass off as "design".

I work better on my Mac. It's a synergistic effect.

Characterizing Apple owners as mere status-seekers is as simplistic as my characterizing Linux-types as people too cheap to pay for software. Sure, some might qualify as such, but it would be unfair, unwise, and, well... stupid for me to tar all of them with the same brush.

Re:What?

[DaveCBio]

And characterizing all laptops and computers other than Apple as "flimsy creaky cheap plastic crap" is just the sort of attitude he is talking about. "I work better on my Mac. It's a synergistic effect." is another line of bullshit. You are the cliche that you try to deny. A computer is a tool and that's all. If there is something that sets the computer apart like ergonomics or the software on a certain OS is better for your work flow then that's great for you. However, don't try and tell me that the case colour and design have anything to do with "working better".

Re:What?

[Ohreally_factor]

Ah, see, your problem is that you need a mattress on the floor of your office and maybe a blanket to pull over your head when you're on a deadline, and don't want to be disturbed.

Re:What?

[geniusj]

Could it have anything to do with the fact that it runs a completely different operating system too? Nah..

Re:What?

[Achromatic1978]

I appreciate elegant lines and strong industrial design. I also have no artistic talent. I like a lot of Apple's laptops. But not all. The others, I hate. Those all white models look like "flimsy creaky cheap plastic crap", too, whether they are or not. My laptop, not an Apple, uses dark slate gray /metal/, and is well designed.

You say it's a synergistic effect. What is? "I work better on my Mac because it works well" is /not/ a synergy. If you work because something works, that's not a synergy, that's cause and effect. It's not the bringing together of two things with different abilities to reach a common goal. It's flimsy creaky cheap marketing crap.

Re:What?

[shmlco]

FACT: It has great industrial design. FACT: I appreciate well-designed tools. FACT: I enjoy using it, and even look forward to using it. FACT: I take it with me more places, and use it more often, than I did the Dell. FACT: My frustration level is lower. FACT: My productivity on it as opposed to my Dell is higher.

FACT: There are people who appreciate design, many of whom are designers. Lack of design grates upon their senses.

Like I said, if you can't understand that, then you can't. But if your sense of superiority is reinforced by the delusion that I paid more to make some kind of "statement", then feel free. You're wrong, but feel free.

Comic strips also

[azpenguin]

I don't know exactly how much Apple actually works to get its products out there on TV. If you want to follow the creative/graphics angle though, look in your newspaper comics. Almost every single time you see a computer it looks like an Apple product. I doubt Apple is pushing this placement; rather, it's just what the artist uses (and most likely prefers.)

24 and bad guys

[Dionysus]

Didn't the bad guys on the first season of 24 use PCs? All the good guys (CTU) used Apple

It is also a clue about the character using the

[alfredo]

computer. Most often the hero is on a Mac, and the villain uses a PC.

Re:MovieOS already exists, under a different name.

[Xyde]

Actually that machine was running UNIX. IIRC it was a Quadra 700 running A/UX 3.

Re:In Britain, A Boob Tube is...

[ianhaya]

In North America, Boob is sometimes used as a replacement for idiot or fool (What a boob!). Tube is sometimes used as a replacement for TV or Telly (What's on the tube?). Boob Tube is synonymous with Idiot Box, which refers to the idea that watching television inherently makes you stupid because of all the crap on TV.

The Boob Tube that you refer to is usually referred to as a Tube Top here in North America. Maybe we don't call them Boob Tube's here because they are becoming quite popular (much to the dismay of their parents) with pre-teen girls who haven't developed boobs yet ;-)