To brand or not to brand a product placement? Evidence from a field study of two influence mechanisms of positive portrayals of alcohol in film.

Abstract

We propose that branded and non-branded product placements in movies are interpreted differently and that a movie with unbranded alcohol portrayals influences audiences' alcohol-related beliefs and choices indirectly, through the process of narrative transportation, whereas a movie with branded alcohol placements impacts audiences' alcohol beliefs and choices via a more basic social-cognitive process of influence. Ordinary moviegoers (N = 758) attended a showing of The Snows of Kilimanjaro (2011) in a popular theatre in Tacna, Peru. Subjects were randomly assigned to watch the original movie, with branded alcohol portrayals, or a brand-free, control version. Reactions to the movie and alcohol-related beliefs were collected in a survey immediately after the film exposure and real beverage choices were measured. The findings reveal that exposure to unbranded positive portrayals of alcohol produces story-consistent beliefs and alcohol choices through the process of narrative transportation and that exposure to branded positive alcohol portrayals produces direct effects in terms of alcohol expectancies and brand choice, despite lowering narrative transportation. Although viewers disengage more from the characters, and experience lesser enjoyment and perceived realism when exposed to actual brands in a movie, they still hold positive alcohol expectancies and are more likely to select the placed brand, a process consistent with social cognitive theory. The findings suggest caution about the recommended policy of removing branding from alcohol placements, such as in the case with plain packaging in tobacco, and instead call for effective policies to constrain alcohol product placement, as was done with tobacco placements.