Transformers was a pretty entertaining movie. Giant robots beating the hell out of each other generally is.
In addition to the carnage, the product placement in this movie was pretty snazzy also.
Camaros, Mustangs, Air Fresheners… Transformers has it all!
Bumblebee, everyone’s favorite human-loving transformer was upgraded to a new pimped out Chevy Camaro concept car. The iconic hippie mobile Beetle version of the lovable Autobot - a thing of the past. Instead, you, the viewer, gets 30+ minutes of on-screen Camaro action to help persuade you that you need those new wheels.
Barricade, a random Deceipticon in the guise of a police car, happens to be a Ford Mustang. Personally, I’m partial the the Mustang, and every time I see one on the road, in a movie, or anywhere, it helps reinforce that I will someday need one! Damn you, marketing people, damn you!
And, the finale, a small air freshener that was seen hanging from Bumblebee’s rear view mirror that (so appropriately) read - Bee-otch. So powerful was this cool little item that I decided to hit the ‘net when I got home from the movie and order a few for myself.
Here’s the response I received a few days later…
Net Sales is a small family owned business in Eugene, Oregon. We design and manufacture stickers, patches, magnets, buttons, keyrings and a ton of other stuff, in licensed designs by dozens of top artists, and sell them all over the world. Sometimes, movie studios buy a handful of our products to help them set the mood for a feature film, and it’s a minor buzz for us to see our work up there on the big screen. But our main job is creating and providing product to thousands of retailers, from mom and pop head shops, to the biggest retailers on earth.
So you can imagine our surprise when we heard that the movie Transformers featured one of our discontinued air fresheners, and that everybody–and we mean EVERYBODY– seems to want one.
Now, that’s a lift from some product placement! I even went and looked on eBay and saw these puppies selling for upwards of $40. Crazy, but cool at the same time. An accidental marketing and business boon… how sweet.
(By the way - in the end, a month after the fact, I got a half dozen for $15 total.)
