By Megan Ashdown, Senior Digital Account Director
Product placement often gets an eye roll. Whether it’s glaringly obvious in a Hollywood blockbuster or a TAD more subtle in the newest Netflix series, when it crops up there’s usually an audible groan, followed by someone muttering “blatant product placement” (well at least in my house!)
I found myself thinking about this recently during a re-binge of Stranger Things. An absolute behemoth of a show, the last series remains the third most-watched TV show in UK Netflix history, despite the most recent episode airing over three years ago.
Now, aside from its abundance of monsters, Stranger Things has something else in excess: Product placement.
From KFC to Coca-Cola, the show shamelessly weaves brands into its nostalgic 80s setting. One character even drops the iconic tagline – “It’s finger lickin’ good”– at the dinner table, a moment so audacious it made me chuckle.
But here’s the thing: despite the clumsy, unapologetic insertion of these brands, it works.
Take New Coke. Staying true to its 80s roots, the show spotlighted Coca-Cola’s infamous 1985 reformulation across Series 3 – a product largely unknown to modern audiences.
And this is where the magic of product placement comes into play.
If you check search trends for New Coke since 2018, there is one, huge, lone spike: July 2019 – the exact month Stranger Things Season 3 was released.
So, is product placement Shameless and Blatant? Absolutely.
But also Effective? Without a doubt.
Now, I hear you – product placement seems like a game reserved for the giants – “why is this relevant to me” I hear you cry “we can’t compete with Coca-Cola?”
Enter please – Virtual Product Placement. [1]
Now we know that AI is transforming media, and product placement is no exception.
Virtual Product placement is a groundbreaking AI-driven solution that allows brands to collaborate with content owners to seamlessly insert their products into images, videos, movies, or social media posts after production. And crucially – at a lower cost.
Now what does this actually mean?
Virtual Product Placement enables brands to dynamically integrate their products into digital content; allowing brands to show the most relevant product to their user – a natural evolution from DCO tactics already widely available and utilised across other digital channels. This means that two viewers watching the same YouTube video could see entirely different product placements, tailored to their demographic, viewing platform, browsing habits, or even the time of day. To hugely oversimplify: One viewer might see a packet of Peanut M&Ms, while another may see a packet of Classic M&M’s.
And why should we care?
Personalisation is the cornerstone of modern advertising, and Virtual Product Placement is already proving to be a game-changer. Investment in this technology is steadily increasing, and recent research from Kantar underscores its effectiveness:
- Only 12% of consumers reported enjoying traditional TV ads.
- However, 79% responded positively to Virtual Product Placement.
- 56% of viewers exposed to virtual product placements went on to purchase the featured products—compared to 34% after seeing traditional TV ads alone. [2]
It’s not hard to imagine why this is working so well – it’s the success of conventional product placement – enhanced with AI-driven personalisation. Virtual Product Placement is merging the flexibility and agility of digital-first platforms like TikTok and YouTube, with the credibility of traditional TV and Cinema advertising. And as brands seek smarter, more adaptive ways to engage consumers, this unique cocktail of effectiveness tactics means that Virtual Product Placement could be well placed to be the next big thing in digital dynamic marketing.
So, to conclude. Yes. As we established with Stranger Things, product placement is shameless and blatant. And despite the more personalised experience virtual product placement brings, I do still believe that product placement – whether traditional or virtual – will always be a little annoying.
But if that’s what makes it work…does it really matter?
[1] https://www.shopify.com/uk/blog/virtual-product-placement
[2] https://blog.mirriad.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-virtual-product-placement