Concave Brand Tracking analyzes the top 10 most successful cases of product placement in 2016 movies and how much advertising value they generated. 
In 2016, Over 700 Brands appeared in the top 50 movies at the US box office. These added up to almost 1500 individual movie/Brand product placement partnerships. Some of these will have disappointed the Brands, amounting to only a few seconds of fleeting screen time. Others combined highly visible Brand appearances and box office success for the movie, resulting in excellent advertising exposure. In this article, we take a close look at the top 10 most successful products placements of 2016. They are ranked according to the advertising value they generated. This is calculated using their screen time, logo/name visibility, product discernibility and the movie’s global audience. 
 

Check out our video summary of this top 10 

#10 Dell in JASON BOURNE 

3.8 million $ of product placement advertising value 

Like any modern spy/action thrillers, much of JASON BOURNE revolves around technology. Indeed, many scenes take place in CIA control rooms or offices filled with computers. Characters also often use laptops as they travel across the world. While other Brands such as Apple, Lenovo, and Canon did feature in the movie, Dell products made up the bulk of the electronics. As such, Dell was the most visible Brand in JASON BOURNE overall and got 3.8 million dollars worth of advertising value from its almost 10 minutes of screen time. 
Dell was also the #1 Brand in 2016 movies overall, with appearances in over a dozen movie. 

#9 Oxydo in DEADPOOL 

3.8 million $ of product placement advertising value 

With T.J. Miller wearing a pair of their OX 556 glasses throughout DEADPOOL, Oxydo got the 9th most valuable product placement of 2016, worth 3.8 million dollars. The frames had over 5 minutes of screen time as they were worn by a supporting cast member whenever he was on screen. This was also the 3rd most valuable product placement for an eyewear manufacturer. 

#8 Chevrolet in DEADPOOL 

4.3 million $ of product placement advertising value 

In DEADPOOL, the vehicles of choice of the villainous Ajax (Ed Skrein) are Chevrolet Suburban SUVs. As such. The Brand enjoyed over 5 minutes of screen time, during which the Chevrolet logo was visible 33% of the time. 
 
This appearance was worth 4.3 million dollars in product placement advertising value for Chevrolet. It was also a major contributor to Chevrolet being the 6th most visible Brand in 2016 movies. 

#7 Dell in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR 

4.5 million $ of product placement advertising value 

At #7, we once again find Dell. Interestingly, Dell had less screen time and was actually less visible on-screen in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR relatively to JASON BOURNE. But with the Marvel blockbuster being the highest grossing movie of 2016 worldwide, more people saw the product placement. As such, Dell earned over 4.5 million dollars of product placement advertising value in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. 
The fact that Dell appears twice in this top 10 illustrates quite well the Brand’s diversification strategy. Rather than banking on a couple of blockbusters to provide it with most of its product placement visibility, it appears in a range movies. Indeed, Dell appeared in over a dozen of the top 50 movies of 2016 which resulted in it being the #1 Brand of the year. 

#6 Apple in ZOOTOPIA 

5 million $ of product placement advertising value 

Concave Brand Tracking also records Brands that appear in animated movies. In such films, Brand appear in many forms. Sometimes they are exact replicas of real life products, like Sony in HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 for example. Other times they are rough imitations which are not necessarily meant to be associated with the original Brands. This is often the case with cars in animated movies. But sometimes – and this is the case with Apple in ZOOTOPIA – the products are slightly different than in reality but are clearly meant to evoke the Brand, often in a humorous way. From the iPod shuffle and iconic white earbuds early on in the movie all the way to the iPaw tablet later on, it is clear that most electronics in ZOOTOPOA are meant to be Apple products. The most visible of these products is the iCarrot phone used by the main character throughout the movie. 
 
In our valuation model, Concave factors in that the Apple logo is never actually shown and classes these appearances as “implied sightings”. However, with over 5 minutes of screen time, its products appearing quite visibly and the movie being a box office hit, Apple gets over 5 million dollars’ worth of advertising value from ZOOTOPIA. 

#5 CNN in BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE 

5.4 million $ of product placement advertising value 

TV channels are often used in movies to convey mainstream reactions to events. With many parts of BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE having global implications, CNN is utilized throughout for this purpose. CNN microphones appear at press conferences and its site is used by characters for research. But most often, CNN’s TV channel is shown for live coverage of major news. While other press outlets such as PBS, NPR or MSNBC do also appear in BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, none come close to CNN’s 2 ½ minutes of screen time. With much of this being in the form of close-up or obvious shots and its logo being visible 91% of the time, CNN gets 5.4 million dollars’ worth of product placement advertising value from BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE. 

#4 Ray-Ban in X-MEN: APOCALYPSE 

5.4 million $ of product placement advertising value 

In X-MEN: APOCALYPSE, Scott Summers (played by Tye Sheridan) wears a pair of custom Ray-Ban sunglasses throughout most of the movie. The eyewear gets particular attention as they help the character harness his powers. As such, the Brand gets almost 10 minutes of screen time with its logo visible 24% of the time. This product placement ended up being worth 5.4 million dollars in global advertising value. 

#3 iGreen in GHOSTBUSTERS 

6.5 million $ of product placement advertising value 

At #3, we have our most visible glasses product placement, eyewear manufacturer iGreen. It owes this to being worn by Melissa McCarthy throughout most of GHOSTBUSTERS. This added up to almost 30 minutes of screen time for the eyewear manufacturer. The exact model worn by McCarthy was a pair of Matt Black/Tortoise #4.05 frames. 
 
In 2016, this was iGreen’s only major movie appearance but was enough to make it the 10th most visible Brand for the year. 

#2 Audi in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR 

9 million $ of product placement advertising value 

As we reported, Audi was the 7th most visible Brand in 2016 movies, with CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) making up 90% of its yearly exposure. As such, it should come as no surprise that this product placement ranks among the most successful of the year. With 5 minutes of screen time and 93% logo visibility, Audi got 9 million dollars’ worth of product placement advertising value in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016). 

#1 Samsung in BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE 

9.2 million $ of product placement advertising value 

The key to a successful product placement is for a Brand to get significant exposure in a movie that will do well commercially. With almost 9 minutes of screen time – in the form of laptops, TVs and monitors – Samsung hit the jackpot in BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, which grossed over 800 million dollars worldwide. 
 
This effective product placement resulted in over 9 million dollars’ worth of advertising exposure, the most of any Brand in a single 2016 movie. 
Having also appeared in such box office hits as SUICIDE SQUAD, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR or NOW YOU SEE ME 2, Samsung clearly targets blockbuster movies for its product placement. This strategy resulted in Samsung being 2nd most visible Brand of 2016. 
If you would like to find out more about this ranking or are simply interested in more information on our methodology, data or services- 
 
Please contact us at info@concavebt.com 
 
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