Moviegoers are being bombarded by commercials hidden in their favorite films and should be told when companies have paid to have stars use their products on screen, says a group complaining about the practice.
In a petition filed Thursday with the Federal Trade Commission, the Center for the Study of Commercialism asked the government to force filmmakers to tell theater patrons when movies include paid "product placements."In the popular movie "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," a Domino's Pizza deliveryman hands pizzas through a sewer grate to the film's hard-shell heroes. That scene was part of a broader joint promotional effort involving Domino's and the Ninja Turtle characters. Phillip Morris paid $350,000 for the James Bond character in "License to Kill" to smoke Lark cigarettes.
"What we're saying is don't try to pretend you're showing (viewers) art when what you're showing is advertising," said Michael Jacobsen, co-founder of the center, a non-profit organization that points out areas it considers overly commercialized.
Elizabeth Barnes, a spokeswoman for the Motion Picture Association of America, said the group had no comment on the center's petition. The Motion Picture Association is the Washington-based lobbying group for the major Hollywood studios.
Handing a name-brand product, say a Coca-Cola or Pepsi, to the leading character in a popular movie "is an effective form of advertising because it's a sneaky form of advertising," Jacobsen said.
In its petition, the center asked that films containing paid product placements carry a notice at the beginning telling viewers that businesses have shelled out cash to have their products shown. The center said the notice should be "clearly displayed" on the screen and "clearly audible."
The center is contending in its petition that product placements are an "unfair marketing practice" under the Federal Trade Commission Act because "audiences are being advertised to without being told."
With the cost of blockbuster movies in the tens of millions of dollars, Hollywood studios and producers are looking for ways to help pay for the spectacular special effects that viewers expect and the high salaries actors demand.
"Product placement is crucial to the film industry in a lot of ways," conceded Jacobsen. And he said the center is not advocating removing the plugs, just telling patrons ahead ot time that they're there.
"The effectiveness of these plugs lie in the fact that people don't see them as plugs," he said.
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- "Ghost," from Paramount, which the center said contained at least 23 references to 16 different brand-name products.
- Disney's "Pretty Woman," which the center said contained 20 references to 18 brand-name products.
- "Home Alone," Twentieth Century Fox's box office blockbuster. The center said it contained 42 references to 31 brand names.
- "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" from New Line Cinema, which the center said contained 18 brand names.
- Tri-Star's "Total Recall," which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. The center said that film contained at least 55 references to 28 brand-name products.