A lot of people are going to be talking about Jurassic World, and some of those people are going to be talking exclusively about the amount of product placement within the film. Those people are called “haters,” because the movie was very entertaining. But we’ll get to an actual review of the movie later…
While I didn’t go into Jurassic World expecting anything, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the sheer amount of product placement was immediately noticeable. To that end, the movie which is very tongue-in-cheek and self-describing about many things, Jurassic World is very quick to address the seemingly corporate takeover of the world. It’s almost as though they’re trying to beat critics to the punchline.
But the question you’re hopefully asking after all of this is: “does all the product placement ruin Jurassic World?”
Not at all, but it is hard to miss. So hard to miss, in fact, that I was able to take mental notes after the first few Mercedes-Benz, Beats by Dre, and Coca-Cola references.
Now, before you get all high-and-mighty, keep in mind that paid placements are nothing new for the Jurassic Park franchise. “Steven Spielberg broke new ground again when his 1993 film Jurassic Park featured over 100 product placements at different price points (source).” Does this photo look familiar?
That’s what I thought. But before we go ahead and get off-topic, here’s a (nearly, mostly) complete list of all the product placement in Jurassic World, presented without any spoilers.
Beats by Dre: The older, cooler protagonist kid loves rocking his Beats by Dre when he’s ignoring his parents.
Coca-Cola: There’s a scene early in the movie where super-cool Chris Pratt is working on his Triumph motorcyle. When Bryce Dallas Howard comes to talk to him, Chris puts a Coke up to his mouth and says, “I’m busy,” then takes a huge commercial-quality sip.
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Triumph Motorcycle: That’s the sweet ass bike that Chris Pratt rolls around on.
Mercedes-Benz: While M-B cars are pretty much the only vehicles you see in the entire movie, perhaps the most evil and underhanded product placement comes from a scene where Chris Pratt asks Bryce Dallas Howard if she wants to “see something cool?” The scene jump cuts to a brand new Benz pulling up, where the camera is focused on the logo.
Samsung: Everyone in the movie rocks Samsung gear: phones, tablets, wearables, even televisions. I can’t necessarily blame them, I do too.
Verizon Wireless: The Jurassic World theme park is desperate for funding, so when Verizon Wireless comes in looking to sponsor a new dinosaur named Indominus Rex, the dino then becomes the “Verizon Wireless Presents The Indominus Rex.”
Pandora Jewelers: There’s a Pandora store centrally located within the shopping center of Jurassic World.
Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville: Probably the strangest of them all. The good news is that this one isn’t very noticeable. Jimmy Buffet himself is actually in the movie–he’s the old dude who runs to protect his drink.
Starbucks: There are a lot of people drinking Starbucks beverages. Apparently dinosaurs aren’t enough to wake you up.
Barbasol: Strangely enough, I didn’t see any Barbasol cans. That was like the one product placement I was hoping to see. Did I miss it?
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