Interesting NYT piece on the still-evolving role, and still-growing industry, of product placement in TV and movies. Brand marketers are interested in reaching consumers who normally skip commercials, and show producers want to incorporate brands in ways that don’t distract from the story… at least not too egregiously.
On another level, it’s interesting to consider the New York Times’ presentation of this story itself. For instance, as the user scrolls through the story on a desktop browser, the cursor turns into an icon of the brand being discussed. It’s an novel interaction, but also could distract the user from the story.
Fun Fact: The first product placement in film occurred in 1896. It was for eBay. Just kidding. It was for a brand of soap.