GM and Hummer hope ‘Transformers’ product placement will pay off

In what may be the largest dose of product placement EVER in a movie, GM is hoping to connect with what has been an elusive market for them: 18-34 year olds. But what makes this product placement so valuable? “You’re going to see these cars as the heroes. You’re not going to see the other actors,” said Dino Bernacchi, GM’s associate director of branded entertainment. The movie to date has already brought in over $150 million, and some critics are putting Transformers on their favorites list. After hearing a lot of the press, I had to see what all the fuss was about. Growing up I was never REALLY into the Transformers craze – I remember having a few toys and occasionally watching the cartoon, but I was not a die hard fan by any means. So I came into the movie somewhere in between the two target markets – the nostalgic crowd and the young crowd experiencing transformers for the first time. It seemed at every turn there was another product placement for GM – it didn’t hinder the movie at all, but sometimes it felt like it was too much. It may be that as a culture we’re still adjusting to seeing SO many brand names in TV and Film. The two brands I noticed the most were GMC (All the government SUVs) and Chevy (A 2009 Camaro plays Bumblebee). Hummer had placement early in the film with the H3, and then Ratchet, a modified medic Hummer H2 transformer was introduced. Overall, the movie was enjoyable, and I did leave the theater wanting pricing on a 2009 Camaro! Whether or not the move will help General Motors sell more vehicles is yet to be known. However with ticket sales soaring, and toys and video games bound to follow, GM may see a big payoff in the long run from immersing their product directly into pop culture.