Product Placement

I love the TV series, Chuck. One of the things I really do love about this show is their hilarious use of product placement.

In the most recent episode (Season 4 Episode 4), there were two instances that stood out to me. The first product was the Toyota Sienna. My Ad File Set 3 was about the Toyota Sienna commercials and their target market of "cool dads," So naturally, I loved seeing Ellie's husband, "Awesome" talking about his new car, even before their baby is born. I think this placement just emphasizes the Toyota's aim to appeal to young, hip people. Awesome's character (aka Devon) is that of a sexy young doctor, and in his little spiel about the Sienna, he managed to throw in some of the special features the car has.

The second product was Subway. Subway is one of the main advertisers for Chuck. Their "subtle" advertisement in this episode was when talking about "Costa Gravas," (a communist nation frequently visited in the show) saying, "Costa Gravas is stable now, we even have a Subway franchise!"

Although product placement can often become irritating, I think Chuck does it in a way that adds additional humor to the show and portrays the product as something normal and hip.