7 notable product placement milestones in pop culture

Lester Cohen // Getty Images – Media type: Movie – Products featured: Doritos, Pizza Hut, Mountain Dew, Pepsi, and Reebok “Wayne’s World” transformed from a recurring “Saturday Night Live” sketch to an iconic touchstone of ’90s comedy. It’s also memorable as the first major film to mock product placement while simultaneously showing it off. In the film, Wayne (Mike Myers) and his pal Garth (Dana Carvey) fight to regain control of their public access TV show after it’s been bought by unscrupulous businessman Benjamin Kane (Rob Lowe). Benjamin makes a series of changes to their show, including the introduction of sponsors. In one memorable scene, Wayne says, “It’s like people only do stuff to get paid,” all while showing off a Pizza Hut box, a bag of Doritos, and a can of Pepsi. While product placement is still a major component of financing films, “Wayne’s World” didn’t let this practice off the hook easily. 30 Rock (2006) Jeffrey Ufberg // Getty Images – Media type: TV show – Products featured: Snapple, Verizon, General Electric, Kraft, Snapple, Dr Pepper, and many more Tina Fey’s hit NBC sitcom “30 Rock” took the art of simultaneously featuring and mocking product placement to a new level over the course of seven seasons. In one 2007 episode, writers on the show’s fictional comedy series lamented the practice of featuring products in the series, before seamlessly praising the scene’s sponsor, Snapple. In a 2008 episode, Liz Lemon asks “Can we have our money now?” after spending an entire scene expressing her love of Verizon products. Other notable sponsors included Kraft and Dr. Pepper. This long-running, on-the-nose method of product placement arguably changed the game when it came to advertising on television. Final Fantasy XV (2016) Chesnot // Getty Images – Media type: Video Games – Products featured: Cup Noodles Square Enix’s “Final Fantasy XV” went above and beyond when it comes to video game product placement, incorporating sponsor Nissin’s Cup Noodles into multiple facets of the game. There are multiple dialogue scenarios mentioning Cup Noodles, entire missions related to Cup Noodles, and even Noodles-themed clothing items available for characters. Players can even eat the Cup Noodles within the game to power up. While Nissin Cup Noodles brand themselves as “the original instant ramen” in the U.S., they’re even more popular in Japan, where “Final Fantasy XV” was created. There’s even an entire Japanese museum dedicated to the brand. DJ Khaled – No Brainer (2019) Johnny Nunez // Getty Images – Media type: Music – Products featured: Belaire, Kandypens, Bumbu, Ciroc, Fashion Nova, D&G When it comes to product placements in music videos, the 2019 video for D.J. Khaled’s “No Brainer” is no doubt one of the most infamous recent examples. The video doesn’t just feature fellow famous musicians Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Chance the Rapper; it also prominently features a whopping six brands throughout its 2-minute and 26-second runtime. These brands run the gamut from vape manufacturer KandyPens to alcoholic beverage Bumbu rum to women’s online retailer Fashion Nova. While the number of product placements in “No Brainer” is significant, this isn’t a first for Khaled–he also includes product placements aplenty in other videos, like 2021’s “I Did It” and “Let It Go.” This story originally appeared on Giving Assistant and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.