Iron Man 2 has one of the most extensive brand placement programs ever, with several brands trying to associate themselves with the high-tech blockbuster. Some benefited, but a study by YouGov showed that not all did.
Audi’s car models were extensively used in the movie, from the A8, Q5 and Q7 SUVs, and A3 hatchback to Tony Stark s personal R8 Spyder, and they were the biggest brand winner, seeing their buzz score with men over 18 leap from 17.3 on May 3 to a current score of 30.7. Burger King had eight movie-themed toys for its kids meals, a new sandwich in the Whiplash Whopper and The King has shown up in an Iron Man costume in both commercials and at the premier, helping to double their buzz score from 13.3 on April 30 to 26.2 on May 10.
Dr. Pepper had movie-themed cans, ran a TV ad featuring Iron Man creator Stan Lee and partnered with 7-Eleven to create an orange-flavored Slurpee. A Dr. Pepper can was in Tony Stark s house in the movie and on a building banner. All this led to a healthy increase in buzz score from 17.5 on April 27 to the present score of 27.6.
LG Electronics’ program for the Ally included a TV ad and Iron Man giveaways to Ally buyers. Stark used the phone in the movie as well. The Ally wasn’t available when the movie released, however, and LG s buzz score fell from 24.9 on May 4 to 18 on May 10. Symantec had a more low key promotion, where they bundled Norton AntiVirus with the first Iron Man DVD or two tickets to the new film and also had a sweepstakes and an online game; didn’t really help their buzz score, which went from 3.2 at the end of April, to zero.
Source: AdWeek
