Gaga Makes A Wonder Bread Sandwich
Like Madonna of the 90’s, Lady Gaga is testing conventional boundaries. The “envelope pushing” artist capitalizes on catchy pop music and shock factor, while also propelling her career through the Internet. Her latest video, Telephone: ft. Beyonce, is trending aggressively.
Companies noticed her popularity with the tweens to twenty-somethings, and have now littered their products in Gaga videos. Most of the placements are clever and fitting, but others are not great matches for the target audience.
Virgin Mobile: It’s clear that Virgin dropped some serious quid to be in this shoot (even though it was for a total of five seconds). Considering the viral nature of the video and the target demographic, this will be a profitable decision. Younger viewers may be more inclined to choose Virgin as their first service provider…they see Lady Gaga using Virgin and immediately associate it with being cool. Like Lady Gaga, Virgin shakes the norm, and she is a great representation of the company’s brand equity. However, the placement lacked a natural feel…
Polaroid: Polaroid joins the placement game by having Beyonce and Gaga snap pictures of each other while driving…which is always a safe place to take photos. The digital camera market is now the standard for consumer photography. Polaroid recognizes this. But in an effort to cast off sluggish sales, they are using this video to give Polaroid a chic factor. By having two celebrities use their product for only a second, they will generate Polaroid buzz more effectively than any 30 second commercial. (Did you know that Gaga has a line of Polaroid cameras?)
Wonder Bread: I get why Gaga was in the kitchen (she was making a poison sandwich, of course), but did Wonder Bread actually pay to be an ingredient? If the company is trying to be the edgy bread-maker, then this is a good start. But, if Wonder Bread is trying to spread awareness, this spot is extremely conflicting with their current wholesome identity.
Welt’s Take: Product placement can be an effective way to promote yourself. To successfully place your product, it needs to be believable and relevant to your target. In other words, know your brand equity!
What other product placements were in the video? Were they good fits? Can you name what movie the “Pussy Wagon” is from?
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Category: Welt | Tags: Advertising, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Madonna, marketing, Polaroid, Product Placement, Telephone, Virgin, Virgin Mobile, Welt Branding, Wonder Bread 16 comments »
March 12th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
Diet Coke in GaGa’s hair
March 12th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
Not to mention the good second or so Plentyoffish.com or whatever was displayed on screen. There were probably others I managed to miss, but this really rather bothers me, I thought GaGa had a bit more class than that.
March 12th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
“Pussy Wagon” from Kill Bill
March 12th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Pussy Wagon is the car that “The Bride” stole and then drove in Kill Bill 2…
March 13th, 2010 at 3:25 am
How about MW. and Honey Buns.
March 13th, 2010 at 5:59 am
Gaga’s headphones called “Heartbeats”
March 13th, 2010 at 6:39 am
The Pussy Wagon was actually first seen in Kill Bill 1, not 2
http://www.tarantino.info/wiki/index.php/Pussy_wagon
There were also some of Gaga’s own products on display (like her Monster headphones for example).
March 13th, 2010 at 9:22 am
she also wears chanel sunglasses
March 13th, 2010 at 9:54 am
The advertising is a social commentry on the consumer American culture. If you read this article from a British paper you will see…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/mar/12/internet-lady-gaga-provocative-video-telephone
Also, the polaroid one actually makes sense… Lady Gaga is actually a part of the polaroids comeback now, she’s employed by them.
March 15th, 2010 at 6:33 am
I really adore this video and I consider Lady GaGa to be a genius in her artistry, but I don’t really get the rush of some companies to do some product placement in a scene that comments on our poisonous consumer habits.
One of the things I’ve taken from the video is that Wonder Bread + Miracle Whip is gonna clog your arteries, faster than you can say “GaGa”. Not products I’m longing to buy.
March 15th, 2010 at 11:50 am
Lady’s Gaga’s video was little more than a very expensive pastiche of Madonna’s production values, pop and hip hop choreography, peppered with a more than a few “quotes” from Quentin Tarantino.
That the work is processed, manufactured and tested as thoroughly as a jar of Miracle Whip, suggests that the video and its stars have more in common with Miracle Whip than anyone would like to admit. As for Virgin’s involvement, it shows that today, a brand can be reduced to content and the real medium is Gaga. What may be the woman’s real contribution to marketing is her understanding that she’s not a performer, or at least, a particularly interesting or original performer, but a medium through which brands may move. (Madonna in relation was a primitive and thought of brands as sponsors and herself an artist worth sponsoring.)
Three minutes into the video I was bored but felt, as a professional, I had to watch it to its end. The piece owes almost every image to earlier works, from Jail House Rock and Women in Cages to more recent films, where the wicked lesbian partners in crime ride off into the sunset. What disappointed me was that its producers, in spite of having a budget and cast and talent to produce a good Independent film, say something on the level of Reservoir Dogs, instead produced a video that lacked any sincerity and so emotional honesty. Will it sell rings tones and phones? Perhaps for the next two weeks. What was interesting is that the video was so nakedly a commercial. Yes, we all know that today’s audiences know they’re being “targeted,” and that they would be disappointed by any display of quality or purpose other than to sell. Gaga’s smart enough to know that she’s the primary product to be consumed followed by paid and unpaid sponsors
Gaga is an excellent student of popular culture but not an interesting artist. Beyonce’s involvement simply extends the audience, while elevating Gaga to another level. (Why Beyonce would consent to be tossed in mix is a real marketing riddle?) As for the piece as a whole, as statement about our culture, it brought to mind a line from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: “They glory in their shame”. Which makes the cameo appearances of formerly great brands such as Polaroid, particularly sad, and this particular brand so desperate, perhaps it ought to be put out of its misery.
March 15th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
| Weber didn’t pay for placement but Miracle Whip did. Funny, how this happened somewhat organically … Gaga wanting certain ‘props’ to send messages.
March 15th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
| Wonder … sorry … Wonder Bread. (Not Weber. Duh.)
March 15th, 2010 at 11:42 pm
How do you think Wonder Bread should react to being used in the video?
March 18th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
[...] has gotten a lot of “free” products from her deals with other companies as seen in the previous article here. But the final question for me is: when does marketing become art, and art become [...]
April 12th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
Wowie….really enjoyed Lady G and Beyonce graced each other by appearing in their respective videos.
While ‘Video Phone’ had no plot and showcased the beauty of Beyonce; ‘Telephone’ featured a campy plot with winks to ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and ‘Kill Bill’; among others.
With song lyrics and use of color Lady G’s sense of fun and popular art dominatied the video.
Loved the fact that Lady Gaga has not forgotten that she is in the music business and was able to use Virgin Mobile/Miracle Whip in a video (which is an ad to buy her album) and get them to pay her for it!!!
No matter how “edgy” one is; they will still need (wonder) bread for their sandwich….don’t spend ALL your money on the art Lady Gaga!!!!