Joseph Weaver

BUSN 1100
Professor Johnson

Product Placement in Films

1:
There are positive and negative aspects to being featured in the film.
On one hand, getting exposure for their brand name helps make the product
more recognizable and familiar to consumers. This is a good deal for
Budweiser, as they did not need to pay for this exposure.
However, given the tragic nature of the film, it does seem possible that
some negativity could arise in the eyes of some consumers. However, I
would suspect that the consumers that are negatively impacted would not be
part of their target market (described by Lamb, Hair, & Mcdaniel, pg. 50).
So, in my opinion, this effect would be miniscule and easily outweighed by
the benefits of extra exposure.
2:
Budweiser could use the free market exposure to their advantage, and
launch a responsible drinking campaign with a nod to the events of the
film. With the film providing free brand awareness (described by Lamb, Hair,
& Mcdaniel, pg. 53), Budweiser could piggyback off of this and launch an
environmental management (described by Lamb, Hair, & Mcdaniel, pg. 53)
strategy through their social media channels that promotes safe use of
alcohol.
3:
Changing attitudes towards alcohol may affect the way in which the
placement is viewed. With the current demographic of the United States,
where alcohol is considered socially acceptable, this product placement is
likely to be mainly beneficial. However, if the core values (described by
Lamb, Hair, & Mcdaniel, pg. 51) of the American demographic change over
time and alcohol becomes viewed in a more negative light (like tobacco, for
example), this depiction may have a more negative effect.
4:

I do not think Budweiser should pursue legal action. The film provided
them with free brand awareness, as described before. Furthermore, any sort
of legal action would occur after the film has already peaked in its popularity,
and would likely have a minimal effect. Legal action would only have been
worthwhile if it was able to be put into place before the film released.