Buying into The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Remember Morgan Spurlock – Maker of “Super Size Me”?  The super healthy vegan guy who got our attention by eating McDonalds for a month then showed us how his body deteriorated through the consumption of mystery meat and 10 year old sugar drenched French Fries.Well he’s back with a tongue in cheek documentary that every entrepreneur and every consumer will want to see.  “Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold”.  The name says it all.  Spurlock sets out to document the process of whoring himself out to the highest bidder to fund this $1.5 million documentary on …you guessed it.  Product Placement.Every movie today has significant product placement.  Take FedEx in the Tom Hanks movie Castaway.  Or a well placed Dr. Pepper in Spider-Man.   Product placement is part of everyday business in Hollywood.  Spurlock insists that consumers are so used to the constant barrage of advertisement in their waking life that he wanted to lift the veil and bring people to enlightenment.  And at the same time… fund his movie in full!Spurlock starts the film making the first series of calls to top tier companies asking them to sponsor a film all about film sponsoring.  His feedback in a nut shell - This is a stupid idea.  We don’t want our customers’ privy to our product placement.  But as he persists, key middle tier companies see the beauty of being completely transparent while selling their products.  By the end of the movie the audience begins to fall in love with the companies that actually get the whole idea and scoff at the ones who turn him down… BRILLIANT!   The ones that pay to be in the movie know that they are potentially going to be mocked … but it works.  Why?  Because everyone brand does it. Why not be real about it.Spurlock knows that today’s consumers are savvy.  Who can miss the clutter of over animated mega video-trons in Time Square.  Or the visual of a half naked green Shrek surfing in a McDonald's commercial.  It’s a classic case of the Emperor’s New Clothes.  Big brand marketing executives are blind to the fact that they are naked in front of their loyal customers.  And the ones who sign on to pimp Spurlock get it.  Why not sell Pom Wonderful Juice, Mini Cooper, Old Navy and Main and Tail Shampoo while completely mocking the system.Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold is a must see.  If you are a business owner, marketing or PR executive you leave saying “Why didn’t I think of that?”.  But more importantly everyone leaves with an unexplained taste for Annie’s Frozen Pizza washed down with a cold bottle of Pom Wonderful Juice.