Is there a single company existence which manages to get more publicity from third parties than Apple?
Universal Pictures has just released its first image for the upcoming Renee Zellweger movie Bridget Jones’ Baby, and… frankly, it looks a whole lot like an advert for the iPad Air 2.
The movie, which also stars Colin Firth and Patrick Dempsey, is currently filming and set for release in September next year. Hopefully the first official trailer will also point out that this is the same month Apple will release the iPhone 7.
What’s most astonishing about Apple’s success at getting its products into hit movies and TV series is that it (supposedly) never pays a dime for it, other than providing the products themselves. That sets Apple apart from the countless other companies which shell out huge sums to make it look as though cool people actually lust after their gadgets.
In 2014, Apple devices appeared in a whopping 9 of the 35 movies which earned the #1 spot at the U.S. weekend box office — meaning that regular theater goers were inundated with subliminal Apple ads during one in every four top movies.
Source: NYDailyNews
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
9 responses to “Bridget Jones ditches her diary for an iPad in new movie”
Since creative people overwhelmingly use Apple devices is it not clear they will show Apple devices in their videos for free?
In the early days of Mac (then iPhone then iPad), Apple got this placement gratis because someone associated with the film liked their products. Today, they pay for most of that placement. That is why sometimes you will see an iPad in TV show, but the logo will be taped over and such.
Do you have a source for that? Would be interested to read more.
9 is “whopping”? It’s barely 25% – did they provide specs on which platforms had the other 75%?
You don’t think having your product in 25 percent of the top movies of the year is good advertising?
There are main 2 platforms for desktops, 2 for tablets and maybe 3 for phones – 25% is not “whopping” by any measure of these percentages…
Sure. So I’m sure you can point to a company which easily outdoes Apple in this capacity then.
This is odd – usually the trolls don’t write the articles.
You’re changing the subject. My comment was specifically about how you can’t call 25% “whopping” when there is 75% of that unaccounted for. What are we counting? Only movies with computers/tablets/phones in them (Steve Jobs, The Martian, The Intern – which would be fair) or is it all movies (Inside Out, Shawn the Sheep, Bridge of Spies?) If we only count movies with technology like this in it, then it begs the question what is the other 75%?
Don’t throw around numbers without expecting someone to question them.
It’s hardly trolling. I feel you are just being extraordinarily obtuse here. Had it been 25 percent of movies with tablets or smartphones, I would have stated that. Apple products appeared in (roughly) 25 percent of ALL movies which became weekend #1 films. That is an impressive statistic. No other company beats it. This is regardless of whether the film is a rom-com, sci-fi blockbuster, whatever.