Balasubramanian (1994) used the term “benefit-mix” to describe organizational efforts to combine aspects of both advertising and publicity to utilize the advantages of each, while avoiding their respective shortcomings (1994, p. 29). While advertising allows organizations to have control over their message and its dissemination, it is often viewed as less credible with audiences. With publicity, organizations work through the media to transmit messages (or branding efforts). Although organizations give up some degree of control over the message (or brand representation), it is commonly believed that the message is viewed as more credible since it is being disseminated via the media rather than an organization (Guth & Marsh, 2003). Messages that achieve this benefit-mix are known as “hybrid messages” (p. 29-30).
One type of hybrid message is a product placement, or a paid product message aimed at influencing movie or television audiences via the planned and unobtrusive entry of a branded product into a movie or television program (Balasubramanian, 1994). While many cite Steven Spielberg’s film E,T.: The Extra-Terrestrial as the beginning of product placement, closer examination shows that products were present in cinematic films from the creation of the medium (Newell, Salmon, & Chang, 2006; Lehu, 2007). Thus, the current study seeks to examine the evolution of the use of products in cinema.
