German carmaker Audi is “the” major force in produce placement in Hollywood among luxury brands with gambits ranging from have Audis prominent in movies like “Iron Man” to a fleet of Audis transporting attendees to film events that are seen in press coverage.
Says a “Variety” article by Marc Graser, “In fact, Audi has spent the past three years essentially taking over Hollywood, sending fleets of vehicles to chauffeur talent to the red carpets of the Oscars, Golden Globes and premieres; locking down long-term sponsorship deals with the AFI Film Fest; producing full-length features of its own; loaning cars to celebs in the hopes they’ll be photographed by paparazzi; hosting intimate dinners with influencers; and placing product in high-profile pics like the ‘Iron Man’ franchise.”
The “Variety” article continues, “A long unavoidable line of Q7s (its largest SUV) regularly appeared in front of premieres, and the Oscars, to promote its clean diesel TDIs. It also sponsored the red-carpet launch of Marvel and Paramount’s ‘Iron Man 2’ In addition, its longtime loaners to talent in L.A. and New York paid off, with Zac Efron, for example, routinely winding up in magazines and on blogs with his S5.”
Audi has long been the German luxury brand behind BMW and Mercedes, but a decade ago embarked on a costly program backed by huge investment in new cars to pull even with its two rivals. Audi’s has done so already in the German market.
“The irony is that Propaganda GEM, the entertainment marketing shop that brokered the major product placements, has since dropped Audi for BMW and aims to use entertainment as a vehicle to turn around that automaker’s image the way it helped its former client,” notes the “Variety” article. “Ever since BMW produced its much-praised BMW Films series, earlier this decade, the company has remained mostly invisible in the entertainment biz; its cars are preferred mostly by villains in movies and TV shows and wind up getting destroyed in fiery crashes.”
The article says BMW, Acura, Infiniti, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Cadillac are all revving up Hollywood efforts. “Acura has already made sure its shield-grilled fleet is driven by S.H.I.E.L.D agents in next summer’s ‘Thor,’” says “Variety.”
Related content:
Leave a Reply