'Sex and the City' Wins 'Whore of the Year' and Other Notable Product Placement HonorsThe soul-deadening imposition of commercial brands on your moviegoing experience got even more shameless this morning when the oft-overlooked ring of Hell know as "brandcameo" unveiled the winners of its fourth annual Product Placement Awards. You could probably guess at least most of the heavyweight competitors — your Apples, your Fords, your Manolos — from a glance at the last year's worth of releases, but that doesn't make the year's findings any less remarkable in context: The surveyors counted an average of 22.1 brands in each of the 20 films this year to have a No. 1 weekend at the box office. That number is down from 2007, when an average of nearly 25 brands were counted among the year's 32 top releases. The dollars aren't disclosed, but follow the jump for a depressing if fascinating array of blockbusters for sale, the brands that bought them and the ultimate recognition of their unholy unions:
Most Mouthwatering, placement most likely to prompt an immediate purchase: Louis Vuitton in Sex and the City Perfect Fit, best chemistry between a brand and a film: Manolo Blahnik and Sex and the City Welcome to Reality, fictional brand that you would most want in real life: Stark Industries in Iron Man Scene Stealer, brand that stole the spotlight from its human co-stars: Ford Mustang in I Am Legend Bomb, placement that ruined enjoyment of a scene: Nokia in Cloverfield Odd Couple, most awkward and seemingly ineffective product placement: LG mobile phone in Iron Man Film Whore, film that most “sold out” for product placement: Sex and the City
We were surprised to not see Transformers and its over-the-top GM endorsements singled out for anything other than the "E.T./Reese's Award for Achievement in Press Coverage," but there you have it. Other underrepresented films included Juno (Tic-Tacs, though no mention of Sunny Delight), Wall-E (Apple, plus a nod for its pseudo-chain Big 'N' Large), 21 (Planet Hollywood) and even Alvin and the Chipmunks (Fender guitars). As for 2009's early front-runners, your guess is as good as ours: We figure Tropic Thunder's doomed mock campaign for Simple Jack should at land somewhere, and let's face it — there has never been as craven a placement as a movie simply called Milk. Shame on you, Gus Van Sant!