High School

The other night I was on Neflix and watched Mac & Devin Go to High School, starring Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dog. Set in a Los Angeles high school, Devin soon to graduate is faced with writing his Valedictorian speech. He finds inspiration in super senior and ladies man Mac. Devin and Mac must learn from each other; to experience high school and pass their exams to graduate.

For being a relatively pointless movie it was funny. I also noticed a significant amount of product placement throughout the whole movie but lets firstly look at the Netflix trailer. Less than 30 seconds in there is a shot of Snoop Dog and Wiz surrounded by and logos clearly visible; Snoop Lion ( a reinvented reggae Snoop Dog) rolling papers, a Monster Energy drink, a Macbook and Ipad. In the next scene there are stickers advertising; Supra shoes, DGK (Dirty Ghetto Kids) and Neff. Until this class I never really thought about product placement within movies but the audiences see these brands, triggering a thought. By simply thinking about a product or a brand the company is getting publicity, this is another form of marketing.

Not only did Snoop and Wiz make money from the movie they received royalties from the sound track.  The majority of the music on the sound track was either by Snoop Dog, Wiz Khalifa or produced by one of their record labels. Wiz promoted his newer company Tailor Gang Films, coming from parent company Tailor Gang Entertainment.