Analysis: China joins product placement rush

05 August 2011

Peter Ollier, Hong Kong

Audiences watching the latest Transformers film may have noticed one item standing out amid the barrage of product placement typical of a summer blockbuster: Shuhua Low Lactose Milk

The product, produced by Chinese dairy company Yili, was one of four Chinese brands to be promoted in Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon , out of a total of 68 placements throughout the film.

Shia LaBeouf, who plays the hero Sam Witwicky is seen wearing a t-shirt made by Meters/bonwe, a Chinese casual clothing company. Brains, one of the robots in the film, transforms himself out of a Lenovo Edge computer and, according to an article by UK paper the Financial Times , a TCL flatscreen TV also makes a brief appearance.

"The Chinese brand presence in Transformers: Dark of the Moon was significant, and in time it might be seen as the turning point when Hollywood films meaningfully embraced Chinese brands," said Benjamin Mulcahy, a partner of Sheppard Mullin.

To follow in the footsteps of other Asian brands such as Samsung, which has successfully used product placement to raise...



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