Walt Disney Co. ((is)) soliciting paid product placements in a new film, "Mr. Destiny." Companies such as Campbell Soup Co., Nabisco Brands and Kraft General Foods Group are believed to have been contacted . . . The cost structure, as outlined in letters to marketers, is $20,000 for a visual, $40,000 for a brand name mention with the visual and $60,000 for an actor to use the product.
-- Advertising Age
Dear Sirs and Madams:
We represent the playwright, producer and screenwriter William Shakespeare in the offering of prestigious product placements in his works. We feel, and Bill agrees, that an authentic Shakespeare play offers an unrivaled opportunity to showcase your product.
Billy is currently working on a docudrama about the life of King Richard III. This one is sure to generate plenty of attention, since it adopts the controversial technique of using actors to re-create real-life news events. Early in the play, Richard hires two thugs to murder his brother, the Duke of Clarence. In the scene as written, the murderers declare their intention to stab Clarence and then "throw him in the malmsey-butt in the next room," malmsey being a local beverage.
For $20,000, Bill is prepared to rewrite that line to read: "throw him in the super-jumbo cup of Diet Coke in the next room." For $40,000, Bill will move the scene to the next room and show the Duke actually being drowned in a large Diet Coke (logo prominently displayed). For $60,000, the murderers will also drink the Diet Coke and comment on its thirst-quenching qualities after their heavy labors.
Another Shakespeare production, still in the planning stage, involves the rise and fall of a Scottish king and offers a variety of rich product- placement opportunities. Three elderly sisters will be cooking onstage throughout the play, sometimes even reciting recipes. A single product reference -- "Eye of newt, toe of frog, one-quarter cup ReaLemon reconstituted lemon juice" -- will be $20,000. An entire couplet will be priced at $40,000. For $60,000, the sisters will say, "Heck, let's just dump this mess and call Domino's."
There will be a fantasy sequence involving the lead actor and a dagger. For $20,000, he could say, "Is that a dagger that I see before me? Methinks I recognize it from the Hammacher-Schlemmer catalog." (For $40,000, he will seize the implement and use it to slice some cheese.) The King also has trouble sleeping. A Sominex visual would be $20,000; for $40,000, he would actually swallow a pill; for $60,000, his insomnia can be cured, though this will take some rewriting.
A related opportunity involves the female lead, who is obsessed with personal hygiene. An entire scene is devoted to her washing her hands. Bill wants $20,000 for each soap product displayed on her vanity. For $40,000, after moaning "Out, damned spot," she will turn to the audience, smile brightly, and say, "And out it came, thanks to pure Ivory soap!" For $60,000, an attendant will comment that her hands are "not only clean, but soft as well, your Majesty."