Captain America: Civil War
Product placement in movies and TV
shows is a way to advertise certain brands while going about the plot of the
story. Usually big name brands are used if the movie or show can afford that
companies logo and need it for the brand of the movie. Other times they are
used to help new companies get their products out there to the public. In the
superhero blockbuster Captain America:
Civil War audiences see a new action packed film about the Marvel
favorites. The change in political power causes the characters of Captain
America played by Chris Evans and Ironman played by Robert Downey Jr. to go
against each other. While this movie continues the story of Captain America, it
also implements lots of advertising for numerous products. A list of over 20
companies and products are shown in this movie, most of which are different car
companies and motorcycle models (Donnelly,
2016). Though the products were used in a positive light by the superheroes,
some may argue that they were overwhelming for audience members.
One brand
that was pushed a lot in the movie was the car company Audi. There were multiple
instances where characters drove an Audi or ran past the vehicles. The logo was
very clear and easy to recognize, gaining viewers’ interest. In the “Chase”
scene Captain America is running through a tunnel type structure after the Winter
Soldier, and while people see them running the cars start slamming on their
brakes to avoid colliding. During this scene about five Audi vehicles are shown
within a short amount of time, making it very obvious that the car company was
intending on pushing their new model. By using so many Audis in one scene
viewers were inundated with the logo due to it appearing multiple times. It did
not come off as very realistic in that scene because there are many more car companies
represented in the movie like BMW, Volkswagen, and more, but those are missing
from this specific scene. Other vehicles are shown but from a much further
distance than the Audis. The production team made sure to shown the front grill
symbol and rear trunk logo each time a character moved to a new car.
Other modes of transportation
featured in the movie were the new Harley Davidson motorcycle models. Harley Davidson has been coupled with the Captain America franchise for years, but
it “reignited the Marvel Studios’ Partnership” for the 2016 film (CycleNews,
2016). The Harley’s were used
frequently throughout the movie by multiple characters from both superhero
teams. The Captain America team member Winter Storm was seen using the Street
750 bike in the chase, while the Ironman team member Black Widow was seen
riding the Iron 883 model in a separate scene. The TV commercials and online
ads showed the two models and said, “Choose a Side” (Sauer,
2016). In contrast to the Audi advertising, the motorcycles were shown only
for a few moments in the film. This aided in the company’s advertising tactics
by not overwhelming the viewers with their new models, but still showing the
newest products.
Captain America: Civil War featured many
brands and companies throughout the movie as well as outside the film. The
production company partnered with Audi and Harley Davidson among many others,
and aired a record number of 940 TV ads costing a total of $5.54 million
dollars (Variety,
2016). These commercials not only assisted with promoting the movie, but
also helped with promoting the brands. Overall this movie deserves a 3.5-star
rating because while it represented other brands appropriately, the overuse of
Audis and its logo deterred from the plausibility of the movie.
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