Informative note: You want to know about product placement in movies and how to do it right? Well, Joe D’Amato was a very resourceful guy when it came to financing his movies. While shooting Antropophagus, Joe had a good deal going with Coca Cola. At first, the executives at Coca Cola company weren’t too happy about placing their product in a nasty film about cannibalism. But Joe promised to shoot a commercial for them, if they would help finance his movie. Of course he was not going to sacrifice any days of his already tight schedule to shoot an additional commercial clip for Coca Cola somewhere on a beautiful Greek island. So he came up with the ingenious idea of actually making the commercial a part of the film. He concocted a short sequence in Antropophagus featuring Coca Cola drinks in every shot. All he had to do afterwards, is dub the audio with completely different dialogues, and he’d have a commercial ready. Coca Cola got what they wanted, and Joe received enough money to finish his film. That’s the fine art of product placement for you. Below you can see what the commercial looked like. The same sequence is also featured in Antropophagus, but with different dialogues, naturally. You can enlarge the stills by clicking on them.
Summertime. Friends on a boatride...
“Hey, pretty lady, you want to have a Coca Cola?”
“Hmmm... Such a tasty beverage!”
“What? No Coke for me?”
“Sorry, but I'm going to share this Coke with my boyfriend.”
“Oh well, at least I still got my own Coca Cola...”
“You want a drink from my Coca Cola?”
“Hmmm... That hits the spot!”
“I'm gonna have another sip.”
“Hey, that's my Coke, you know!”
“Well, it's mine now, haha!”
“Hmmm... This is the ideal drink for a summer boatride!”
“I'm gonna hit on that other chick. I got my Coke. I'm a winner.”
“Here, you can have a sip from my Coke too.”
“Hey guys, she's drinking my Coke too. Aren't we having fun?”
The end. Enjoy Coca Cola.
PS: Yes, of course, the story about Joe shooting a commercial on the boat while making Antropophagus is utter bullshit I just made up, here on the spot. But clearly Joe did get his film project sponsored to some degree by Coca Cola. Probably on their terms too, as it’s impossible to miss how many times people sip from Coca Cola cans and pass them on to friends on that boat. It’s all just too obvious. You can also spot them doing the same thing with a package of Marlboro cigarettes.
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