If you’ve seen a movie in the last 10 years, chances are you’ve seen an Apple product. In 2010 alone, Apple products have appeared in 10 of the 33 films that hit number one at the box office, topping appearances by all other brands throughout the year. More impressive, Apple MacBooks, desktops, iPhones, and iPods have appeared in one third of all number one movies from 2001 to 2010–112 of the 334 #1 films at the U.S. box office since 2001. As such, BrandChannel has bestowed Apple its “2010 Award for Overall Product Placement” in its annual Brandcameo Product Placement Awards.
Runners up for the big award were Nike, Chevrolet, and Ford, which tied for second place, appearing in 24 percent of top films. Brands like Sony, Dell, Land Rover, and Glock appeared in around 15 percent of #1 films. However, if you add in the many more films that featured Apple brands but didn’t reach #1, the numbers are pretty staggering.
Movies with Apple brands in 2009 and 2010 include: Morning Glory, Somewhere, Repo Men, Hereafter, Machete, Greenberg, Catfish, Dinner for Schmucks, Lottery Ticket, Solitary Man, Going the Distance, Chatroom, Hot Tub Time Machine, Please Give, She’s Out of My League, Chloe, Killers, Book of Eli, The Spy Next Door, When in Rome, High School, Cats and Dogs 2, Step Up 3D, Gulliver’s Travels, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Knight and Day, You Again, Vampires Suck, Drag Me to Hell, Orphan, I Love You, Man, Duplicity, Crank 2: High Voltage, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Imagine That, Sorority Row, Answer Man, Post Grad, I Love You Beth Cooper, All About Steve, Hurt Locker, New York, I Love You, It’s Complicated, Road Trip: Beer Pong, Law Abiding Citizen, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Funny People and Couples Retreat.
In 2009, Apple products appeared in 44 percent of #1 releases and in 2008 the brand hit an all time high, appearing in 50 percent of number one films in the United States.
Other winners
Apple was the big winner at the BrandChannel product placement awards, but it wasn’t the only one. We’ve listed a few of the other big winners below.
- Most product placement in a single film: Iron Man 2 (64 different brands)
- Worst product placement in a single film: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
- Best product placement by an Oscar nominated film: The Fighter (Budweiser)
- Best product placement in a foreign film: Color Me Love (had Apple computers, among other things)
- Best product placement in a supporting role: the Toyota Prius in The Other Guys
- Best product placement impact: EA Sports video games and Gatorade
- Lifetime achievement award for product placement: the Glock
- Best unwanted product placement: Pfizer in Love and Other Drugs
- Best reverse product placement: Twilight: Eclipse‘s Bella engagement ring (a fake product that has become real)
For more winners and explanations about the categories, head to BrandChannel’s awards page.
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