First Post

When you look hard enough, there are so many symbols and signs that permeate our consciousness through digital media. I used to spend a lot of time watching the television, and the one thing I noticed that was growing at an alarming rate was product placement. This is when a TV show or movie will subtly (or sometimes not so subtly) advertise a certain product because they are getting funding from that company or business. You might see a character driving a getaway car in an action movie and suddenly the camera zooms in on the Honda logo on the car. Or perhaps a character whips out his or her phone and the camera zooms in enough for the audience to see that it is an iPhone. I believe this shows just how much of a consumer culture we have become in America. Now companies are even invading the stories within our movies and television shows to coax us into buying their products. It really doesn't take much either. Just a flash of a logo or a mention of a name by a character is enough to plant the seed of desire in the audience's mind. It really is astounding how much power a simple symbol can have.

Sometimes a show will actually make a parody version of a popular symbol to show the audience what product they want to mention but don't have the permission to vote. I noticed one show in particular, a children's show entitled "iCarly" using what they called "Pear" products with pear logos on them. When you see these products it is obvious they are meant to be "Apple" products by the way the products are designed and the way they look on the show. The Pear logo looks as close to the Apple logo as possible, and the laptops and phones the characters use are the models and designs of the actual "Apple" product. It is funny that some companies are so huge and their designs are so distinctive in popular culture that people will recognize their product no matter what, even if it is a parody.