Product Placement

After reading iSpy I feel as if my eyes have been opened metaphorically, to the strange ways that corporations prey on the American public. Schools are owned by either the Coke or Pepsi brand and often fall prey to their offers of a new scoreboard or gym facility for exclusively selling their products. While watching the older film, "You've Got Mail" the other day, Tom Hanks blatantly flashes his VISA card while making purchases for Meg Ryan's character at a Whole Foods-like supermarket. Another blatant stream in media is cars...the recent James Bond movie flashes the symbols of each car as they get blown up and grinded during the risky racing scenes.
Product placement is an obvious and very blatant part of the media. In a recent Verizon commercial, a group of women are shown fawning over their new "love" of Verizon's phone plans. The obvious allusion to the blockbuster hit, "Sex and the City" makes the whole thing look like an episode with Carrie and the girls. The advertisement opens with, "In the greatest product placement flick of the year...". How disheartening that an advertisement can make fun of a movie that advertises. Kind of like the kettle calling the pot black...