Product placement in the Jurassic world: Razor sharp or toothless?

I’m a giant Jurassic Park nerd. There, I said it. Some of my fondest childhood memories involve playing with my dino models with my cousins in my granny’s garden (including the pinnacle of my collection, an actual shrieking raptor model – but I digress!), while my adult life sees me pushing my love of the prehistoric onto the future generation, my nephew Henry. You’re welcome, buddy.

I also work in marketing. So although the title might sound like I’m naming and shaming, I totally get the need for product placement. And when it’s well-executed, it can be one of the most effective forms of advertising, helping products be seen by billions of eyes.

But sometimes, films do it to distraction.

As the Jurassic Park franchise continues to grow arms and legs (and extra arms, if the Rebirth trailer is anything to go by!), let’s take a look back at the franchise ahead of the arrival of film number seven.

 

Lights. Camera. (Product) action.

Product placement is big business in Tinseltown. In 2023, worldwide film-integrated product placement spending reached $3.5 billion (plus a further $20 billion on TV platforms). Film production and commercial advertising exist in an interconnected world, with marketing deals often underwriting the multimillion-dollar costs of filming.

And it’s nothing new. Who could forget Bond’s trusted Aston Martin, FedEx in Cast Away, Reese’s Pieces in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Ray-Ban sunglasses in Top Gun?

Product placement is therefore viewed by many as a necessary evil, but for filmgoers, the more subtle, the better. After all, it’s essentially an ad we have no option of skipping.

So how has the Jurassic universe approached this, and will the most recent descendant carve a different path?

 

Spotlight on Jurassic World

The conversation around prehistoric product placement really came to the fore in 2015’s Jurassic World – the reincarnation of the franchise, the first of the ‘World’ films and the fourth Jurassic film overall.

And…it’s a lot. Punters can be seen sipping Starbucks, donning Beats by Dre headphones, while theme park staff can be seen brandishing the latest Samsung kit.

Meanwhile, Chris Pratt’s raptor-whispering character can be seen swigging a bottle of Coca-Cola – a job well done after repairing a Triumph Scrambler that he later tears through the forest on. And perhaps the biggest offender for fans was the lingering shots of Mercedes-Benz’s three-pronged logo.

Pandora and Havaianas even got in on the action on the theme-park-style retail street – although I’d pity anyone wearing the latter during a dino attack! Talking of which, the street was the scene of a fan-favourite moment, a Margaritaville barman (played by Jimmy Buffett, the real-life owner of Margaritaville – a stalwart at Universal theme parks) was seen saving two of the eponymous cocktails from diving pterosaurs. Priorities.

 

Commercialisation and chaos

But while some aspects – ahem, the Coca-Cola swig – possibly deserved a mauling from viewers, I’d argue that the film’s in-your-face product placement was more genius than it’s been given credit for.

For me, the film stomped the line between satire and synergy perfectly. This is the first Jurassic film where we see a functioning theme park (…to start with anyway!). I mean, an actual dinosaur name was sponsored by Verizon – an unmistakable wink at the audience. The park is a corporate entity, and the dinosaurs are a commodity – the ‘Verizon Wireless presents: The Indominus Rex’ is no different. No wonder it went on a murderous rampage.

The product tie-ins are gloriously satirical and self-referential. But the scale of it was a bold move for the first Jurassic endeavour since 2001. Still, it soared to secure the franchise’s second-highest IMBD score – after the original film. Whether you roll your eyes or reach for your wallet might just depend on how self-aware you think the film really is.

 

Spared no expense

“Leapin’ Lizards! $50 million” was the headline of Daily Variety back in June 1993, reporting the then record-breaking box office opening weekend for Jurassic Park, a juggernaut that would storm to over $900 million at the global box office.

Spielberg’s iconic blockbuster instantly became famous for its partnerships, including Ford Explorers, Jeep Wranglers, Nikon cameras and Jolt Cola. It remains a period piece of 90s fashion (double denim, neckerchiefs and…Jeff Goldblum).

While the products in Jurassic World hit the hardest, other collabs feature elsewhere in the canon, including Mercedes-Benz in Jurassic Park: The Lost World (1997) and Jeep in Jurassic World: Dominion (2022).

The franchise has also found success outside of the big screen. As well as the aforementioned models, it’s spawned some amazing collabs – hello, snazzy Jurassic Park x Reebok trainers!

 

A new era?

As I just touched on, the other films in the Jurassic saga are more understated than ‘Park’ and ‘World’ in terms of product tie-ins – which suggests that the two films featuring (nearly) functioning theme parks deploy product placement as a metaphor.

 

Jurassic World Rebirth is hitting screens this July, and it’s been billed as having a similar approach to The Lost World and Fallen Kingdom (2018) – a very people-centric, humanitarian mission across the ruins of the failed parks. It’s attracted an impressive cast, so it will be interesting to see how product placement plays a role – hopefully, it’s not overdone and is at least positioned between beloved franchise touchstones.

 

Welcome to product placement park…

So, is the product placement in the Jurassic franchise razor-sharp or toothless? I’d say sharp – witty, even.

Marketing, like films, is all about storytelling – so where products fit the narrative, it can be much more than a marriage of convenience. And Jurassic World is a film that jests about product placement while still reaping the corporate coin. The satire doesn’t stop the brands from benefiting either – they’re very much in on the joke.

I suspect that, to some extent, product placement will “uh, find a way” in the latest film. I just hope they won’t let it run as amok as the dinos!