When Miranda Priestly, the fictional Runway editrix in The Satan Wears Prada 2, must get someplace — a gathering, a photograph shoot, a Met Gala-like ball — she is chauffeured in a car befitting her Wintourian standing: a $300,000 Mercedes-Maybach S-Class. That is no coincidence. Mercedes positioned the automotive there as a part of an intensive promotional marketing campaign it negotiated with Disney, which produced the movie.
“We knew it was the perfect fit,” says Mercedes chief advertising and marketing officer Melody Lee. Not solely did the unique solid return, almost guaranteeing a field workplace juggernaut (it’s soared above $400 million globally), the film could be launched concurrent with the launch of the most recent iteration of Mercedes’ range-topping limo. Additionally, the movie’s demographic aligned. In accordance with Lee, the viewers of the unique film, which got here out twenty years in the past, “have grown up and become our target customers.”
Automakers and studios keep branded leisure groups that keep in shut contact to hunt mutually helpful alternatives. Ideally, the method begins effectively earlier than manufacturing in order that the product placement doesn’t really feel laughably tacked on however somewhat organically labored in.
“Cars aren’t just background. They tell us just as much about a character as their costume and environment,” says Ty Ervin, vp advertising and marketing partnerships, artistic and product placement at Disney.
Rigorously deliberate collaborations “allow the integration to extend far beyond the screen,” Ervin says. Within the case of TDWP2, this meant intensive Mercedes advert campaigns that includes the automotive and its filmic connection, a part of an effort to raise the sequel’s profile and assist it — and its autos — grow to be what Lee hoped could be “a huge cultural moment.”
Different automotive producers make use of this similar course of. In accordance with Sarah Schrode, who headed leisure advertising and marketing for Common Motors, Chevrolet labored intently with 2023’s Barbie to assist introduce its 2024 Blazer SS and Hummer EVs, which have been respectively pushed by America Ferrera’s and Ryan Gosling’s characters. It additionally revived its Mattel “Dream Car” heritage by offering Margot Robbie’s titular character with a classic pink Corvette.
However within the realm of automotive product placement, nobody can compete with James Bond. In accordance with Alessandro Usielli, head of Ford world model leisure, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Ford have all labored with the Bond franchise to introduce new fashions by offering automobiles for the superspy, his coterie of comely conquests and his villainous adversaries.
Not each placement you see onscreen is on the market — and even road-safe. In accordance with Disney’s Ervin, Porsche collaborated on the starship design for the 2019 Star Wars spinoff, The Rise of Skywalker. And Lee notes that in 2025’s F1, Mercedes acted as in-film sponsor of Brad Pitt’s fictional Apex racing group and supplied a fleet of onscreen autos. The three-pointed star model even labored two of its automobiles into the latest hit cartoon GOAT.
“You wouldn’t think Mercedes-Benz would be in an animated movie, but it’s part of our strategy to reach the next generation,” says Lee.
Film partnerships create affinity, relevancy, relatability and, ultimately, gross sales, Lee says. “In one study, three-quarters of viewers searched for a brand after seeing a placement, and more than half went on to buy a product from that brand.”
Even, or particularly, in an period of diminishing field workplace returns, such partnerships stay key. “Product placement is unskippable, unblockable and lives on in long-tail streaming,” says Schrode. Nonetheless, with viewers fragmentation, shorter consideration cycles and decreased attendance, placements have to be extra iconic. “The bar is higher now. Many times, I’m looking for known IP or very innovative new IP,” she provides.
These challenges have pushed automakers and studios to assume extra holistically about placement. “Instead of a one-off, we build an ecosystem around it,” says Schrode. This consists of social content material, behind-the-scenes footage, partnerships with expertise and digital experiences that join onscreen moments to the model’s world.
“When it’s done right, we see incredible amplification,” says Schrode. “The Barbie partnership for GM saw 10 times the engagement on social media than any other posts in the history of the company. That’s a pretty powerful stat.”
This story appeared within the Might 20 challenge of The Hollywood Reporter journal. Click here to subscribe.
