Fashionista - Fashion Designers, Models, Shopping, Style - How Much Is That Brand in The Movie?

Mar 17, 2008 @ 4:09pm

Buying a brand-name flash is nothing new in film and television - in fact, when she was in college, Faran remembers helping the product placement department on the Dawson's Creek set with some strategically scattered bottles of Clean & Clear foam wash.

So the news that Sex and the City will earn Sarah Jessica Parker and its other producers at least a million each in name dropping is annoying and a little bit tacky, but certainly unsurprising. After all, part of Carrie Bradshaw's adorable appeal is in the way she substitutes clothing labels for love.

But when The New York Times released its piece today on SATC's internal marketing, they left out something we'd consider pretty crucial:

How much, exactly, are these brands paying to be mentioned by Charlotte or Samantha?

We did a bit of yellow journalism and had a Hollywood source who's worked on several chick flicks report back to us:

"For that movie, they're paying quite a bit - probably the same amount they'd pay for a celebrity to come to their fashion show [from $10,000 - $60,000]. But if they needed to cut a deal - like shooting at Fashion Week - then there could be some wrangling, like, you can only shoot in Bryant Park if Samantha drives a Mercedes Benz around town, otherwise, you can't do a Fashion Week scene."

And what about for Shopaholic, the latest girls-will-only-get-boyfriends-if-first-they-get-shoes movie?

"Well the interesting thing about that movie is that in the script, all the brand names are done by voice over. That's the last thing ever done for the movie, the voice overs. So if Isla Fisher is supposed to be talking about Moschino, but that brand won't cooperate with the movie's legal or financial demands, they can just change the brand to someone who will before the movie's released."

Ah, speculation. So, so fun.

posted by syako

Mar 17, 2008 4:27PM

That's friggin' awesome. You know they've been doing product placements since E.T. had a deal with Reeces Pieces (remember the scene?) :) So it's been going on for quite a while and obviously getting more and more sophisticated.

posted by annelise13

Mar 17, 2008 5:20PM

You're not ever going to get a studio to reveal how much they charged for any single placement, or even a range: they'll hide behind the term "trade secret."

Why do they really keep it a secret? They don't want Brand A to know they paid twice as much as Brand B, and maybe Brand C didn't pay at all! Plus, if they don't talk money, everyone can kind of convince themselves none (or at least not much) exchanged hands.

posted by guest

Mar 17, 2008 5:38PM

i hope theyre kidding with that pink dress and dalmatian fur thingy.

Mar 17, 2008 6:39PM

It's already been reported elsewhere that Mercedes Benz cut a deal to feature Mercedes Benz fashion week and different models of Mercedes Benz cars in an effort to feature the brand more comprehensively in the movie. They're taking product placement to the higher level!!!! And really, what do you expect from a movie where at least the main protagonist's life revolves around rampant consumerism?

posted by flizzers

Mar 18, 2008 12:09PM

For Guest (posted @ 5:38pm) not to worry... that horrid dalmation frock is actually from the movie "Confessions of a Shopaholic" staring Isla Fisher.... although I could see Carrie Bradshaw prancing around in something like that in the earliest seasons of "Sex"