Product Placement and Cinema

Did you ever see E.T. and immediately after want some Reeses Pieces? What about Back to the Future, did you really want a Delorean after that movie? What about the famous RayBan sunglasses of Men in Black, did you want to make that look good?
Product placement has been in movies since the inception. Most times, its used as a way to get a little extra cash, which will allow for another stick of dynamite for the final explosion, or maybe to secure that star that will help the movie, or sometimes, to give the director a new car. Most movie goers will tell you that it's an annoyance and it's selling out and should be removed from movies everywhere. In fact, there are several columnists who will list the top moments of marketing history and spend hours agreeing with each other that product placement is bad, and how it made them never want to see a movie again because the star had Nike shoes on, or was using a Sprint phone.
I say that is ridiculous and is yet another reason I don't like the so-called 'movie snobs.' I love movies, I love how, with the proper direction and talent, a movie can take you out of this world and somewhere completely different; or a movie can put you in someone Else's shoes, for better or worse; or how a movie can educate you and truly give you a new perspective on lifes issues. Does any of this lose its meaning because they are using real-life products, or even if they stop and make it clear there is a product they are supporting? No, that brief half second clip of the Pepsi can or the Macbook changes nothing. You still make it Back from the Future, the Aliens are still blown up, the evil robots are vanquished and the world is still saved, all while slipping in a bit of product promotions.
Movies are not tarnished by these products, and sometimes they are helped, perfect examples include Waynes World, they actually joke about selling out while promoting the shit out of different products; or Back to the Future, with the Delorean, I truly think that was a match made in heaven;, and finally, the Truman Show had it as part of the storyline, they actually plugged items to keep the show on the air.
So, next time you roll your eyes and say 'oh come on, that was a sell out,' ask yourself, would that movie actually get made without that product, and in the end, does that one scene, out of every scene in the movie really stick out in your head at the end of the day?
Never mind, don't ask yourself that, just don't say that ever again! :)
Just for the heck of it, here are some product placement highlights:

• The Reeses Pieces in E.T.
• Nike's and Pepsi in Back to the Future -"Give me a Pepsi Free"
• Michelob and Macintosh in Star Trek IV The Voyage Home - "Hello Computer!"
• Demolition Man Taco Bell - "All restaurants are now Taco Bell"
• Men In Black and Rayban Predator II -"I make this look good"
• The Matrix Revolutions and Cadillac - during the chase scene

Yeah, I know, I'm sure you were thinking, I do remember these, but did they stick out in your mind? Was that defining moment in the movie?