Apple, the other cult in Hollywood

82 Comments

“For most of Gossip Girl’s first four seasons, none of the hit show’s glamorous teens carried the most talked-about smartphone of the last five years: Apple’s iPhone,” Peter Burrows and Andy Fixmer report for Businessweek. “Because of a product placement deal, they could only be seen with phones chosen by Verizon Wireless. Then, this season, shortly after the deal lapsed, several main characters started receiving their ‘Xoxo, Gossip Girl’ texts on Apple’s hit device.”

“The cast’s sudden conversion cost the Cupertino (Calif.)-based iPhone maker nothing,” Burrows and Fixmer report. “Apple has spent decades strengthening its subtle but powerful grip over Hollywood, and unlike many companies, says it never pays for its products to appear on television or in movies.”

Burrows and Fixmer report, “The company’s gadgets were discussed or shown 891 times on TV in 2011, up from 613 in 2009, according to researcher Nielsen. In the same year, iDevices appeared in more than 40 percent of the movies that topped the weekly box office, according to Brandchannel, which tracks product appearances. That’s nearly twice the penetration of the next most common brands in Hollywood — Dell, Chevy, and Ford.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: So, if Apple’s the “other cult,” what’s the cult in Hollywood that Businessweek’s headline (same as above) references? Excessive dieting? Plastic surgery? Money? Drugs? Multiple sequels? Dianetics? What?

Related articles:
Apple tops movie product placement charts – February 22, 2011
Apple reaps hundreds of millions of dollars worth of free iPad publicity – April 2, 2010
Entire episode of ABC’s ‘Modern Family’ centered on Apple iPad (with video) – April 1, 2010
Apple dominates film and TV appearances – March 5, 2010
Apple iPhone reaps free publicity on Late Show with David Letterman, Tonight Show with Jay Leno – February 27, 2008
Apple awarded Brandcameo Lifetime Achievement Award for Product Placement – February 22, 2005
If Apple Mac has such small market share, why are Macs in so many TV shows and movies? – January 26, 2004
Roger Ebert comments on Macintosh placement in feature films – August 24, 2003

82 Comments

    1. Is that right? Can’t say I’ve noticed it this side of the pond, and I watch a shit-load of US drama series and movies. Care to give details?
      Or maybe it’s just that a lot of the better series I watch are actually Canadian…

      Reply

        1. Wrong Horshack and Fartist, the lemming – Marxist – Brain -Dead – Zombies demonize everything and anything that doesn’t follow their statist mantra. They want to censor everything that exposes them too. They are liars and racists!!!!

        5. Do you even know what a “statist” is and how it applies to Presidents? By definition, all elected representatives are statist because their job is to make law, thereby exercising control.

          The opposite of statist is an anarchist.

          You may as well accuse the President of being a politician and pretending like your guy is not.

          All you right wing wackos go crawl back into the hole your idiot boy king bush dug for you and shut up already.

          Sheesh

        6. CitizenX – was planning on staying out of this, but you are just dead wrong.
          Statism is the practice or doctrine of giving centralized government control over economic planning and policy (IE what Obama has done during his term). Look it up.
          One who practices statism is a statist. And in this case, it is questionable as to whether Obama’s takeovers etc., are Constitutional or not. That was the point (and the dig).

        7. Explaining how tax cuts to spur job creation, a right wing wacko tenant, is not “statism”. Tell me how the defense of marriage act isn’t statism.

          Why don’t you list some specific actions of Obamas to support your idea that he is any more of a statist than bush was.

        9. I didn’t expect any of you wackos to be able to defend your obsession with Obama and statism.

          Bye the way Mr. dyslexic, I’m f**kin right up there with Jesus and communism is too far right for me.

          How do you like them hot dogs, apple pie and chevrolet. Do you have a point with your petty name calling or are you just so stupid that your comment only shows your level of intelligence and not much else.

        10. Citzen Zero,

          When you say wacko you need to look squarely in the mirror, because the definition of wacko is that drooling, zomibe, lemming, drone-face you see staring emptily back at you.

          You are bat-shit crazy!

        11. Citizen Zero Brains is only upset because he’s realizing how wrong his way of thinking is and how he’s been lied to by his dear leaders all of the years…. Reality can be a tough thing for a drone to handle……..

        14. “Obama’s takeovers”

          Don’t you mean Bush and Obama’s takeovers? I mean, come on, if you’re for small government, you really can’t be a blind slave to either the “R” or the “D” flavor of the Crony-Capitalist Party. If you blindly follow either R or D, you’re either a fool or you like having rich corporations tell you what you can and can’t do.

      3. You say Tea Party like it’s a bad thing to be for personal responsibility, the US Constitution, Private Property, Freedom, Happiness, Capitalism, Family Values, and Apple Pie!!!!!

        Go To HELL twofales!

        Reply

        2. Speaking as a Christian, there’s no one walking on this earth who perfectly follows in Christs footsteps. That’s exactly the whole point of why we needed Him to come to earth to pay for sin in our place.

          That said, I can understand the mentality of both liberals and tea party conservatives. Both have legitimate points and both sides have contempt for their rivals.

          Your contempt from your posts is part of the fuel that created the tea party in the first place. The lack of civility on the left has been a growing problem in my life time and it has become a serious epidemic in politics.

          Liberals don’t even try to be civil any more and assume anyone who disagrees is an ignorant hill billy inbred redneck watching wrestling while sleeping with their first cousin in a trailer in fly over country.

        3. Well said. I’m so tired of each side, it’s pathetic. Here we are, going to vote for a president, and Obama and Romney are the best this country has to offer?????

          No one can say what one or the other did well. One side can’t be all right and the other all wrong.

          Show me a candidate who can speak intelligently about an issue, credit good ideas on the other side, that’s the person I’ll be voting for.

        5. LIbTards SUCK!!!!!

          And the bible and Christ say to not leach off your fellow humans. Earn your own keep!

          So you LibTards that keep posting what Jesus would do have no idea about what you are talking about.

        11. No, you can feel free to donate to charity. God and Jesus do not condone you WELFARE ABUSING PARASITES GAMING THE SYSTEM.

          Get off your fat, food stamp fed asses, and go earn your freaking keep, you dirt balls.

          Charity should only be for those that are truly incapable for caring for themselves. NOT for the LAZY!!!!!!

      4. If you don’t comprehend anything else, then understand this: The framework for the laws, checks and balances for this country is the Constitution. Like it or not.
        The Tea Party movement started because of the arrogant, relentless and blatant steps taken by a Democratic party controlled government to minimize, work around and trample on this foundation. Add to that the fact that so much money has been wasted (and still is) to push a socialist agenda; U.S. citizens decided that enough was enough and took to the streets. Don’t discount genuine public outcry over Federal abuse of power as beneath you.
        I would recommend that you read the Constitution and bone up on the founding fathers, before you flippantly shrug off Conservatism.
        And if Americans don’t like parts of the Constitution, then amend it. But never, ever discount it. The Constitution is our foundation and most of us still find it relevant and precious.

        Reply

        1. Despite the sarcastic remarks regarding my lack of knowledge regarding the Constitution , I appreciate that you refrained from the name calling that is usually associated with your ilk( lib tard, dirt ball,
          lazy scum bag etc). My issue is that while you cloak your views in Constitutional principles you ignore the fact that your candidates like Rick Santorum, Michele Bachman and Mitt Romney inject their own religious views onto the individual choices of others that by the way is also protected by the document that you hold so dear.

        2. Finally, a little calm discussion. I fall into the same mindset as ckh. I hold no love for either of the primary political parties and saw in the Tea Party a lot of like minded people: those that think the U.S. Constitution is a pretty good framework put together by people brighter than the average American today. The Federal government has run amok and would be unrecognizable to what our founders intended. There is plenty of blame to heap on both parties, so let’s not go there for a moment. Republicans are wary of the Tea Party because it threatens their control of the Conservative agenda. Democrats demonize them because the TP can’t abide the leftist agenda of today’s Democrats. (As a side note: growing up I always saw Presidential candidates from the Socialist and Communist Parties; hard left Americans. You don’t see that anymore. Know why? The hard left took over the Democrat Party from within. Today’s D party bears little resemblance to the D party of the early ’60s. Same could be said for Republicans, so we’re even.

          Now, twodales, to a couple of your assertions.
          1. Romney’s religious affiliation is brought to attention by other’s not him. I remember when Kennedy’s opponents tried to scare voters by deeming him a stooge of the Pope. Seems we haven’t progressed much. Santorum and Bachman have spoken out more directly about their religion, but more often than not as a response to a direct question. These comments are what get reported, so it seems that this is all they talk about, but it is really only a very small part of who these people are and doesn’t reflect their legislative activities.
          2. Believe it or not, it’s not a bad thing to be a person of faith, especially in Government. Here’s why: when there is no belief in a higher power over Man, the highest power in the land becomes the State. We live in an imperfect world, and with our Constitutional protections against instituting a particular religion or its tenants, I just as soon have people in office that don’t believe they are the most powerful being in the room.
          3. The so-called Religious Right got into politics as a result of a concerted effort on the Left (represented by Democrats) to marginalize people of faith. They joined the Republican Party to combat the Left who had taken over the Democrat Party. The result has been evermore polarized parties.
          4. The Tea Party was formed by fed up Americans in the middle who see the operation of government as totally dysfunctional now, and completely financially irresponsible. I’ve been to Tea Party rallies. They are nice people with broad socio-ecomnomic backgrounds. They are not racist, nor are they religious fanatics. Bachman and Santorum were favorites of the Tea Party for their Small Government positions, NOT their religious affiliation. It just so happens that people of faith typically believe that they are better able to deal with social issues within their families and communities than is a large Federal Government working out of Washington DC.
          5. If you look at the legislative activities of the candidates you mention, you will see that rather than “injecting” their religious views on others, they have been trying to prevent the Government from injecting laws and regulations that prevent citizens from conducting their lives and practicing their religion without Government interference. And THIS is protected by the Constitution.

          PS– I have no religious affiliations and am not a member of any Church. I do see the political dynamics. And while I would hate to live in a place run by religious fundamentalists of any type, I do see personal and societal benefits of a general belief in power greater than Man. You simply have to look to look at the governments that suppressed religion to see the worst human atrocities of the 20th century.

        3. “The Federal government has run amok and would be unrecognizable to what our founders intended. ”

          Like the entire society?

          “Believe it or not, it’s not a bad thing to be a person of faith, especially in Government”

          Never said that.

          “We live in an imperfect world, and with our Constitutional protections against instituting a particular religion or its tenants,”

          That’s not what the Christian Right is espousing.

          “Bachman and Santorum were favorites of the Tea Party for their Small Government positions, NOT their religious affiliation.”

          Really? Don”t believe this for a minute. No one could support Santorum or Bachman without agreeing with there peculiar view of things.

          “they have been trying to prevent the Government from injecting laws and regulations that prevent citizens from conducting their lives and practicing their religion without Government interference”

          Like injecting an ultrasound probe into a woman’s vagina before she has an abortion? Where is the small government there?

          Spark, we can agree to disagree but as always there are two sides to every issue.

        4. Spark, you are great. The liberal – drones can’t compute the pure truth and logic you espouse. We conservatives enjoy every bit of it though!

        5. As opposed to your Lunatic Cult of Statism-Communism-LiberTardism-Socialism-Dictatorshipism…..

          No conservatives are forcing anyone to go to Church. They believe in God given, inalienable rights. Not some crap that you Liberals say we can or can’t do.

          There is a much higher power than your Statist False Fantasy World. You freaking losers!!!!!

      5. You know what’s ironic. The tea partiers that like to spout their pablum using Patrick Henry as an example. Patrick Henry thought the state out to be concerned with those less fortunate. Imagine that, entitlement programs. They think the Boston Tea Party was about freedom. It was about breaking the back of a corporation that was controlling the price of tea. Aint’ that a bitch.

        Reply

    3. If a Republican doesn’t like guns, he doesn’t buy one.
      If a Democrat doesn’t like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

      If a Republican is a vegetarian, he doesn’t eat meat.
      If a Democrat is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

      If a Republican is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
      If a Democrat is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.

      If a Republican is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
      A Democrat wonders who is going to take care of him.

      If a Republican doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels.
      Democrats demand that those they don’t like be shut down.

      If a Republican is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church.
      A Democrat non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced.

      If a Republican decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it,
      Or may choose a job that provides it.
      A Democrat demands that the rest of us pay for his.

      Reply

      1. So True!!!!!

        Liberals are so freaking pathetic! Complete Bottom Feeders!!!!! Misery Spreaders!!!! The Bottom Of The Barrel!!!!! May All Liberals Rot In Hell!!!!!

        Reply

  6. I’m seeing more computers on TV shows – Leverage, The Mentalist – that have a white Windows logo on a black laptop or monitor back. No Dell, HP, etc., just Windows.

    Reply

    1. And they were paid a good amount of money to so display that. And you’ll see Dell prominently displayed also on many shows for instance. The real matter here is that the producers took their payola. If you see an Apple product, even masked, it’s there because someone on the show wanted it there and either used their own device or went out and bought one retail.

      Reply

    2. There are no “windows” computers so they are obviously built solely for the purpose of showing off the windows logo in white. I wonder if MS even has a white logo and if not, does it dilute their brand.

      Reply

    1. Not to mention many Discovery Channel, NatGeo or History documentaries where scientists and ordinary people appears using an Apple computer with the logo blurred or simply masked

      Reply

    1. NO KIDDIN’.

      MDN —– Everybody who is not a petulant, uneducated 14-year-old is sick to death of the bile and frothing, brainless, petulant drivel. PLEEEEEASE just delete all such crap.

      Reply

      1. I agree, it would be good to have those posts deleted.

        But you made another good point: petulant uneducated 14 year old spewing bile and frothing brainless petulant drivel is a perfect description ot the T-Partiers.

        Reply

        1. Dear progressive (Liberal, socialist, anti-freedom) It is the occupy groups that are described by such terms. We the adults of the Tea Party will as usual will have to clean up the mess the children make.
          Now as to the topic, good for Apple to get free advertisement.

      2. Don’t know if it should be deleted; it happens on feedback forums everywhere. Inane as it is, it provides continual snapshots of what’s happening to the country–a kind of live webcam of the ubiquitous seething.

        Reply

        1. Of course it shouldn’t be deleted. But typical Statist – Drones want to delete FREEDOM, FREE SPEACH, PRIVATE PROPERTY, HAPPINESS, AND ALL THAT IS GOOD. THEY ARE SCUM!!!!!

      3. SeaASS,

        you pathetic-PARASITE-LEMMING, stuff your censorship where the sun don’t shine.

        You and your fellow comrades are the problem. The Tea Party and all conservatives are the CURE!!!!!!

        I hope you have and your comrades have a terrible weekend.

        Reply

  9. Hollywood is the global capital of the Cult of Celebrity (look it up), the scintillating illusion of the largely vacuous lifestyle of “the famous for being famous” that saturates the modern media.

    Reply

  10. Very strange that this article says that Apple “never pays for its products to appear on television or in movies.”

    In the ending credits of every episode of 30 Rock, who’s main characters are always using shiny new Macbook Pros and iMacs, it says “Promotional Consideration Furnished by APPLE.”

    Is this the only TV show or movie Apple does paid product placement? Why 30 Rock? (It’s not even funny half the time, imo.) Are there other shows and movies Apple does paid product placement? Why would Apple say they don’t do product placement when they clearly do on at least one TV show?

    Reply

    1. I have seen this “promotional consideration” notice as well. But not so sure that Apple claims they “never” do this. Clearly they do, though way less than Dell & Co., I suspect.

      Reply

    2. i believe that what was said is that “Apple never PAYS” for product placement. Loaning product at no charge to the production company would not, I think, count as “paying.” The fact that the production company would seek out Apple for product when they could be paid by some other company (coughDellcough) to use their products speaks volumes about the esteem in which Apple is held in Hollywood.

      Reply

      1. I thought of that explanation, but it’s basically BS. Each computer costs Apple money to build. Any computer given or loaned by Apple is a sale not made or delayed. Whether it’s paid for with cash or merchandise, it’s still paid product placement.

        Reply

Reader Feedback

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Tags: , , , , , ,