"The Town" According to Lisa & Julie

After reading an article on Brandchannel.com about the number of product placements in the movie "The Town" and love for action-packed movies, Lisa and I decided to see the movie. We thought we would share our thoughts and the brands we saw, out of the 50 products placed in the film. Can you believe there were that many? Tell us what brands you remember seeing in the movie, and we'll give you the answers later today!

By: Julie LeVeque
Advertising Assistant

As the ending credits rolled out, I found out Ben Affleck was not only the leading actor, but directed, produced, and wrote the film. If you love action-packed movies similar to "The Departed" then this movie is for you. A few brands that stuck out to me were Dunkin' Donuts, Ford, Tiffany & Co, Levi's, Coca- Cola and Prius. Being on the edge of my seat, and shielding my eyes from all the shootings, I remembered only a few. But working in Advertising, my eyes are constantly drawn to product placements not just in movies and TV shows but in my everyday life. Does this happen to anyone else?

By: Lisa Dahlby
Account / Project Manager

I went to see Ben Affleck’s The Town last night. I loved it, although it’s quite violent and I did have to cover my eyes a couple of times. Julie had prepped me that there were lots of product placements. Maybe I had my hands over my face more than I thought, because I can only remember 4 brands. I could make the excuse I’m immune since I work in advertising. Perhaps? But I think the fact I work in advertising, is exactly why I should notice more than the average movie goer. So it’s more likely that I was just totally oblivious. Or just didn’t find the brand placements that distracting. Or more importantly, that memorable.

The four I recall were very major brands with numerous placements in the movie: Tiffany & Co, The Boston Red Sox, Budweiser and Cadillac Escalade. The Escalade one stood out to me most because throughout the movie they refer to it as “the truck” and only once do they call it an “Escalade.” I wonder how much more Cadillac would have to have paid to have them refer to it as an Escalade each time.
Do you think product placements take away from the story or help to enhance the plot?