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Apr 29 Press Release

Winter Is Here and So Are The Brands

After a much-anticipated wait Game of Thrones is back with its final season, which will be its biggest, boldest and most brutal season to date. Boasting over 17 million viewers for its first episode, Game of Thrones has taken the world by storm, simultaneously bringing people together to watch this winding and ever-changing fantasy world and dividing opinions as to who will get killed off and sit on the Iron Throne. In any event, people are hooked to the show and because of this, brands are wanting to capitalise on this pop culture sensation. Whilst it may not be full of product placement – putting aside the Ikea rugs that many of the cast wear– we take a look some of the ingenious marketing campaigns that creatively celebrate the show and its rich world we have all come to know and love.

Oreo

Game of Thrones title sequence is famed for its marvellous animation of the geographical landscape that the world is set in and a thundering theme tune that will make anyone burst out into song (loud hums) as soon as the show starts. This iconic opening was reimaged by Oreo who used their delicious biscuits to recreate the original opening’s clockwork-like motion.

This was to promote a series of four limited-edition Oreo packs, each with a unique design referencing one of the many houses seen in the show. Oreo motivated people to vote for their allegiances (House Stark, The Night King, House Targaryen, House Lannister) via the brands website and social media pages to those who got involved, by offering a “special treat” for participating. It’s safe to say that many people will have an Iron’s bank worth of snacks to eat through these movie length episodes, just like Oreo said, ‘Cookies are Coming’.

Diageo

In a similar vein to Oreo and one Tyrion would no doubt appreciate, Diageo is one of many spirits companies to have released a limited-edition range of single malt whiskies to celebrate the last season. Focusing on Westeros, the collection matches a whiskey to a specific house from the region in the show, even going so far as to choose taste profiles and brewing locations that suitably match the characteristics and legacies of the Houses. For example, the Cardhu Gold Reserve is in recognition towards the fiery demeanour of Daenerys Targaryen.

Diageo’s number 1 selling whisky Johnnie Walker couldn’t resist renaming their well-known Jonnie Walker whiskey to White Walker and with an added nod to the show they made it to be served straight from the freezer. A drink that will definitely get you through the long night. An obvious and well executed concept that seamlessly merges both the brand and the show due to product relevance and target audiences, creating a real buzz that benefits both parties and leads to an increase in sales and awareness for the show.

Sky UK and Volvo

Sky Atlantic channels sponsor teamed up with Volvo and brought the Iron Throne to members of the public around the UK. With there being seven kingdoms in Game of Thrones it was only natural that the tour went around seven cities nationwide, giving fans a chance to sit on the heavily fought after Iron Throne and encourage them to take a picture and raise as much awareness as possible.

Sky Atlantic also partnered with the British Army and had the Coldstream Guards Band at the Tower of London perform the Game of Thrones main theme. They were supported by a “cheer”-leading band of The Nights Watch who surprised and delighted fans with a Game of Thrones inspired military display when they were waiting for a traditional Changing of Guard Duty. This fantastic spectacle took two months of planning and organisation to execute and fully entertained the public.

Urban Decay

HBO knows with this being the final season for Game of Thrones as well as the inevitable deaths that will occur, there will be floods of tears from fans whose make-up will run faster than you can say “Dracarys”. With the show having strong female characters and appealing equally to both male and female audiences alike, it was no surprise that make-up brand Urban Decay wanted a piece of the seven kingdoms, creating a Game of Thrones inspired cosmetics kit. Their licence deal includes an eye shadow set that features a pop-up Iron Throne, brushes in the shape of Arya’s and Jon Snow’s swords and colour palettes like “White Walker”, “Dragons Smoke” and “Lannister Gold”.

With only 4 episodes left of the final season fans will be at the edge of their seats eagerly awaiting to see who lives and who dies. The wide love of the show is evident in the many brand partnerships that have come on board, increasing with every season. Whilst the end of the series may create a void in many fans lives, with rumours of a prequel in the works co-written by Kick Ass and Kingsman alumni Jane Goldman, fans or brands won’t have to wait long for their next fix of winter/emotional turmoil.

Jan 30 Press Release

Kick-Starting 2018

– 30th January 2018 –

Seesaw Media have got 2018 off to a flying start with clients appearing in some of the UK’s most talked – and tweeted – about television series and feature films of the year. With starring roles in the dark and gripping thriller “Kiri” and Channel 4’s game of cat and mouse that is “Hunted,” to name a few, Seesaw’s clients have already been seen by a combined audience of over 10 million viewers in January alone.

The exposure is causing quite a reaction, and not just within the offices of Seesaw Media or their clients. Audiences are taking to social media to tweet and post about the brands they are seeing on screen, with one program recently generating over a hundred tweets about a placement. For Seesaw and their clients, social media is a great way to gauge how successful the placements have been – giving instant, honest reaction and confirmation that the brand is seen by viewers.

The rest of the year doesn’t look like it’s slowing down either; with a further 15 prime-time television series and 14 blockbuster movies scheduled for release in the next 12 months (and that’s not including the numerous scripts, treatments and partnership opportunities that the Seesaw team are reviewing on a daily basis).

With 2018 predicted to be a record-breaking year at the box office, it looks like it could be a record-breaking year for Seesaw Media too!

Oct 30 Blog

Paranormal Product Placement

With Halloween fast approaching, the streets will once again be lined with the paranormal: zombies, vampires, ghosts and more in search of tricks and treats. So, in honour of this now global tradition we shine a light on the films and TV shows that celebrate this holiday and, most importantly, the brands that take a starring role through product placement.

There once was a time where companies were scared of being connected to horror films, yet a rise in this genre’s popularity (especially amongst the hard to reach 15-25 male demographic) has led to a rise in the number of brands using product placement to appeal to that audience. Ever since the Scream and Twilight franchises, the latter of which went to gross over $1 billion, brands have been waking up to the appeal of these films and have not been frightened off by the sometime gruesome content.

Most recently with Get Out and Alien: Covenant’s opening weekends drawing in $33million, and over $36million respectively, the genre and the appetite for horror films has gone from strength to strength; culminating in this year’s fright fest by the ultimate master of horror, Stephen King with It (2017) becoming the highest grossing horror film of all time having netted over $600 million globally.

In Get Out, the break out hit which saw a return of $253.1million off just a $4.5million budget, it wasn’t just the Producers who cashed in on the film’s success. Microsoft has a starring role in the film with the Microsoft Lumia 950 phone, the Surface tablet and Bing search engine, all appearing prominently on screen.

Not only do the characters use a Microsoft tablet, but they used Bing – a Microsoft search Engine. This may be the most unrealistic bit of product placment considering that when it comes to search engines Google is the go-to resource used by over 77.43% of people online. Apart from Bring, the tech placement in the film is subtle, giving Microsoft products an organic presence in the film.

Microsoft aren’t the only tech brand to benefit from on screen exposure with the Canon EOS 7D making a cameo, with imagery that look like they could be an advertisement.

Furthermore, our heroes car, a Lincoln MKC, is given screen time front and centre coinciding with it 2017 launch.

Product placement in Alien: Covenant was literally out of this world. A successful science-fiction franchise, directed by Ridley Scott, was the perfect platform for brands to showcase their longevity. From the glossy, black Steinway piano played by Michael Fassbender’s character at the start of the movie to the AI-driven Audi Lunar Quattro, brands were more than happy to showcase their latest and greatest products in this terrifying movie.

The AI-driven Audi Lunar Quattro in particular demonstrates Audi’s advances in the field of Artificial Intelligence. “The ‘Alien’ franchise is the best way for us to garner suitable attention for the Moon rover developed by Audi, and to showcase Audi’s intelligent technologies in a visionary environment,” said Giovanni Perosino, vice president of international marketing communication at Audi.

Slightly less luxurious but just as impressive, JCB also features prominently in the film, with a fleet of over 20 gold wrapped construction vehicles appearing on screen.

It’s not just the big screen that is seeing a resurgence in the paranormal horror genre, with product placement in paranormal TV shows also on the rise. In reference to a previous tweet, Polaroid sales have increased thanks to Stranger Things. With retro products such as Polaroid cameras featuring in the series, it is a fascinating comeback for a brand that was at its height of popularity over 30 years ago. Martin Franklin, the brand’s head of global marketing, has called it the “Stranger Things Effect”. He says “people are enamoured by that 1970s and 1980s aesthetic.”

They also feature Pentax cameras, and go as far as to put them on a poster tease for the new season.

Depending on what you’re doing for Halloween: watching a scary movie, maybe dressing up as Edward or Bella Cullen in Belstaff, the appeal of horror movies to brands is going to last way past the halloweek. So the next time you are in front of the big or small screen, check out how many products you recognise in the that horror-film, it might be more than you think!

Sep 27 Press Release

High Profile Actresses Deliver Empowering Brand Partnerships

– 27th Sept 2017 –

2016 was a record breaking year for female-led films, with The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film reporting that women fronted 29% of the top 100 grossing films of the year, resulting in a 7% increase on 2015 results.

With a slow but steady rise in female-led films, it’s no surprise that brands have been quick to capitalise on opportunities to associate with strong and empowered characters through product placement and relevant brand partnerships. We take a look at some of the successes – and fails – of these recent partnerships and propose that the time is now for more female-focused brands to capitalise on the success and popularity of films with strong female role models.

Notable female-fronted films of recent years included Amy Adams in ‘Arrival’, Felicity Jones in ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’, Mila Kunis in ‘Bad Moms’ and the ensemble of Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones in ‘Ghostbusters’; a clear sign that Hollywood is addressing the gender bias that has plagued the industry for decades.

CREDIT: DISNEY

However, despite the dominance of Jones’ character in ‘Rogue One’, with her character taking central stage of the promotional posters, the brand partners of the film were typically male/family-skewing. With promotional campaigns from brands such as Gilette, Nissan and Verizon failing to capitalise on the film appealing to a wider female audience.

CREDIT: SONY PICTURES

Similarly the ‘Ghostbusters’ UK promotional run included gender neutral brand partnerships for National Tyres and Autocare, Sony Mobile, O2 Priority and Karcher, none of which used the strong female characters to their advantage. In fact there was very little in the way of women appearing in the campaigns, with brands seemingly to prefer playing on the popularity of the iconic and long-standing franchise than its appeal to a new female generation.

CREDIT: KARCHER

2017 continues the revolution of female leads taking over the typically male-skewing film genres with Gal Gadot picking up Wonder Woman’s lasso and sword and smashing the 2017 box office. The film took a massive $800 million during the summer, becoming the third highest-grossing film in Warner Brothers history. As a result, the film’s director, Patty Jenkins is soon to become the highest-paid female director in history following confirmation that she will direct the sequel.

CREDIT: WARNER BROS PICTURES

Whilst ‘Wonder Woman’ cemented tie-ins with brands such as Dr Pepper, Lego, Nascar and a Walgreens Cosmetics line, the film generated some negative press when it was revealed that one of the film’s partners was a female lifestyle brand called thinkThin, offering protein bars, nutritional supplements etc. Naturally this caused a backlash on social media as many were outraged that the film would promote the idea that being thin is synonymous with being a healthy, strong and intelligent woman.

In stark contrast to this, the film’s promotional campaign also coincided with International Women’s day, where the film’s stars Gal Gadot and Chris Pine used the day as a platform to contribute to the pro-feminist conversation and solidify the film as leading the way for the industry to encourage more female focus and leadership. Despite his celebrity draw, Chris Pine was notably absent from the films promotional posters as the studio played to the film’s strength and made the decision to put Gadot’s character front and center of all marketing efforts.

CREDIT: WARNER BROS PICTURES

It’s not only the comic-book genre that female leads are starting to take over. This year’s ‘Atomic Blonde’ pulled the punches in this Cold War action thriller, billed as a ‘female John Wick’ and actually went on to gross more at the box office than the Keanu Reeves original. Russian Vodka brand Stolichnaya became a natural brand partner with the film’s bold and edgy tone, fitting perfectly with the brand’s current positioning. The product placement of the brand included two verbal mentions by Theron’s character, with the bottle appearing eight times throughout the film.

The campaign included an Atomic Blonde/Stoli Pandora station which generated over 31K listeners and the campaign’s display ads totalled more than 23.4 million impression,s while pre-roll videos garnered over 9 million views.

CREDIT: STOLI VODKA

2018 is set to continue the trend of female led feature films. Fans of the 2001 crime thriller ‘Ocean’s 11′ starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt are eagerly awaiting the all-female remake titled ‘Ocean’s 8′ with a high profile cast including Anne Hathaway, Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Rihanna and many more.

All we can say about the film so far is that Debbie Ocean, played by Sandra Bullock will attempt to ‘pull off the heist of the century at New York’s star-studded annual Met Gala’ – perhaps providing a golden opportunity for luxury fashion brands given the setting. There’s still a while to wait and see which brands will partner up with the project as the film hits theatres on 8^th June 2018.

CREDIT: WARNER BROS PICTURES

Also in the works is the upcoming remake of ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ currently titled ‘Nasty Women’ led by Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson. The original starred Steve Martin and Michael Caine and saw two con men try to settle their rivalry by betting on who can swindle a young American heiress out of $50k first. ‘Nasty Women’ sees the gender reversed version of the 1988 comedy where the two characters will engage in a loser-leaves-town contest.

CREDIT: REBEL WILSON INSTAGRAM

Another project that will feature a strong and powerful woman is ‘Red Sparrow’, with Jennifer Lawrence teaming up with her ‘Hunger Games’ Director to portray a Russian spy seductress. Starring alongside are Joel Edgerton, Ciaran Hinds, Charlotte Rampling and Mary-Louise Parker.

With the first shots of Alicia Vikander in action as everyone’s favourite ‘Tomb Raider’, Lara Croft in the films recently released trailer, is yet just another example that goes to prove how much Hollywood sees the benefit of these female focused movies.

With the film industries support and the number of strong female role models on screen, there has never been better opportunity for brands, whether gender specific or not, to reach the core female audience.

From on screen integrations and product placement to smart and targeted promotional brand partnerships, more companies are seeing the benefits of choosing to associate with these mega franchises and push forward the message of gender equality in a typically male-dominated industry.

Aug 08 Press Release