Most Successful Product Placement Deals in Movie & TV History

Brand: Junior Mints
Year of Release: 1989
Production Cost: $600,000*

You don’t have to be a TV fanatic to know that Seinfeld was an absolute goldmine for Comcast’s NBC. The show generated a huge amount of income for the network and for its stars, with Jerry taking home $1 million per episode by the final season. The show’s popularity made it the perfect vehicle for product placement. 

Seinfeld (Junior Mint) @Seinfeldism1 / Twitter.com

 For the season 4 episode “The Junior Mint” producers partnered with Tootsie Roll Industries to create an interesting storyline. When Kramer and Jerry are watching an operation from the viewing gallery theater, Kramer accidentally drops a Junior Mint into the patient’s open body. 

Brand: Circle K
Year of Release: 1989
Worldwide Gross: $40.5 million*

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure made a star out of Keanu Reeves and became a cult classic, taking over $40.5 million at the box office against a very small $6 million budget. Eagle-eyed viewers noticed that several different brands pop up in the movie, including Nike’s Converse sneakers. 

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (Circle K) @cori_andrews / Twitter.com

One sticks out head and shoulders above the rest, though. In one scene, Bill and Ted visit a Circle K gas station. The station’s signage is prominently featured in the lengthy scene, including multiple angles of the front. 

Brand: Ray-Ban
Year of Release: 1983
Worldwide Gross: $63.5 million*

The ‘80s was a great decade for Tom Cruise as he starred in hit after hit. His breakout role was in 1983’s Risky Business. The teen comedy was a box office smash for AT&T’s Warner Bros, making over $60 million. Not only did teens want to see it, they wanted to be just like Cruise’s character. 

Risky Business (Ray-Ban) @ShadesDaddy.com / Pinterest.com

Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses feature heavily in the movie as well as the promotional material. This prompted a revival for the brand, helping sales to rise. The entire look became an iconic part of the ‘80s aesthetic. 

Brand: Apple
Year of Release: 2001
Production Cost: $1.5 million*

24 proved a very lucrative series for Fox when it debuted in 2001, going on to be a huge worldwide sensation. Tech gadgets and phones were always used in the show, but many fans noticed something interesting in the early seasons. Jack and the “good” characters tended to use Apple products when the “bad” guys would use other brands’ products. 

24 - Apple @brandvids / Twitter.com

Things changed slightly as the seasons rolled on, but the partnership was apparent in the early seasons. At the time, Apple was on its way to becoming the worldwide tech giant it is, although iPhones weren’t produced until 2007.

Brand: Starbucks
Year of Release: 1998
Worldwide Gross: $250.8 million*

‘90s audiences loved a rom-com, especially when it involved Meg Ryan. Ryan was already a prolific actress when Warner Bros. partnered her with Tom Hanks for 1998’s You’ve Got Mail. It wasn’t the first time the two stars collided, having worked on Joe Versus Volcano and Sleepless in Seattle previously. 

You’ve Got Mail (Starbucks) @earfulof / Twitter.com

Product placement is quite evident throughout You’ve Got Mail, especially in the Starbucks scene where Hanks’ character pops in to buy a cup of joe. Starbucks branding is clearly seen in each shot, so you can’t mistake what coffee house the iconic character is in.  

Brand: Chevy
Year of Release: 2007
Worldwide Gross: $709.7 million*

Hasbro toys have been popular with kids for years, so when they launched the Transformers movie franchise in 2007, it was long awaited. Chevy jumped on the opportunity to be featured in the Shia LaBeouf vehicle. After the Camaro appeared in the movie, the company enjoyed a significant boost in sales.

Transformers (Chevy) @transformersmovie / Facebook.com

“Being part of the Transformers’ franchise is an incredible way to showcase the design work of which GM is capable,” said General Motors VP Ed Welburn, according to Variety. “The global series gets our cutting-edge designs in front of more potential customers than we could through traditional methods.”

Brand: Nike
Year of Release: 1985
Worldwide Gross: $289.1 million*

When it comes to product placement, some writers embrace it while others shy away from it. Back to the Future’s screenwriter Bob Gale decided to use it to his advantage. Talking to the Wall Street Journal, he said, “Brand names create a certain kind of reality. That was something [the director] and I were very adamant about when we made the first movie.”

Back to the Future (Nike) @Filmgarb / Pinterest.com

One of the most famous big names featured in the time traveling caper is Nike. This partnership continued into the sequel, with Marty’s famous disintegrating sneakers. Gale struck gold with this one. 

Brand: Ace Combs
Year of Release: 1955
Worldwide Gross: $4.5 million*

AT&T’s Warner Bros. was behind Rebel Without a Cause, the prolific coming of age movie that starred Natalie Wood and James Dean. It’s easy to presume product placement doesn’t exist in a movie from back in 1955, but that isn’t the case. 

Rebel Without a Cause (Ace Combs) @Sabrinapodcast | @cjubarrington / Twitter.com

James Dean’s character was considered by many to be the voice of a confused generation, and one that younger audiences could relate to. As a result, when he used an Ace comb to fix his hair in a scene, sales of them went through the roof. Sadly, Dean passed away before the movie was released.

Brand: FedEx
Year of Release: 2001
Worldwide Gross: $427 million*

Tom Hanks landed on one of his most iconic roles to date when he starred in 2001’s Cast Away. While the movie was an emotional tale about one man’s will to survive on a deserted island, it wasn’t without its brazen product placement.  Amazingly, FedEx didn’t pay a dime to be featured so heavily in the movie. 

Cast Away (FedEx) @kkania / Twitter.com

Their branding was used throughout as Tom’s character is an employee that goes down in a plane carrying FedEx products. Packages are washed up on the shore, including one containing a now-iconic Wilson volleyball, another fine example of product placement. 

Brand: T-Mobile
Year of Release: 2009
Production Cost: $400,000*

It could be said that every episode of Shark Tank is built solely around product placement as inventors try to sell the Sharks on their business. However, Disney’s ABC show has one very prominent sponsor: T-Mobile. 

Shark Tank - T-Mobile @deSouza3 / Youtube.com

One some occasions, pitching businesses will pull out a T-Mobile cell purely so the brand can be advertised. Not only is the brand discussed, but the features are often showcased, too. It isn’t subtle placement in the slightest, but obviously a paid deal that probably helps fund the show. It hasn’t gone unnoticed by viewers, who dedicated a whole Reddit thread to the issue.

Brand: Dunkin’ Donuts
Year of Release: 1998
Worldwide Gross: $149.7 million*

Dunkin Donuts is a huge brand that spans across the world. They’ve had their products advertised in multiple movies, including the Adam Sandler comedy Jack and Jill. The 1998 movie features a very interesting scene involving Al Pacino and Dunkin’ Donuts. 

Jack and Jill (Dunkin’ Donuts) @Commercial Assault / Youtube.com

Jack is tasked with getting the veteran actor to star in a commercial for the brand’s new coffee called the “Dunkaccino.” Not only is it a wonderfully inventive way to sneak advertising into the movie, it’s also very entertaining to watch and perhaps one of the funniest scenes in any Sandler venture.

Brand: Littmann Stethoscopes
Year of Release: 2017
Worldwide Gross: Unknown

The Good Doctor debuted in 2017 and ever since has developed a loyal following of devoted watchers. The show airs on ABC which automatically exposes it to tons of people and makes it a valuable platform for companies who want to advertise there. 

The Good Doctor @GoodDoctorABC / Twitter.com

Seeing as the show is geared heavily towards the medical industry, it only makes sense that top US health care company, 3M would want to advertise their Littmann Stethoscopes there. Various times throughout the show, characters can be spotted using Littmann Stethoscopes in various styles, models, and colors. 

Brand: Coca-Cola
Year of Release: 2002
Production Cost: $1 million*

American Idol is no stranger to advertising. At first glance it may not seem like it, but companies are desperate to get their products featured on the show that millions of Americans tune in to watch. Back in 2011, CKE got a slice of the pie by becoming the most-present brand broadcast in prime time, according to Nielsen ratings. 

American Idol (Coca-Cola) @TV_Trax / Twitter.com

This was thanks in part to the judges’ use of Coca-Cola cups which were very present on the table in front of them. Coke has never had a problem getting featured in movies and TV shows, so this was just lucrative another day at the office. 

Brand: IHOP
Year of Release: 2013
Worldwide Gross: $668 million*

Superman has been a central character in American pop culture for many years, ever since Clark Kent debuted in DC Comics decades ago. When DC relaunched its movie universe a few years ago, Henry Cavill signed up to play the Man of Steel in the movie of the same name. 

Man of Steel (IHOP) @justincousson / Twitter.com

Superhero movies may be out of this world, but that doesn’t stop them from mentioning American institutions like IHOP. In the 2013 caper directed by Zach Snyder, the restaurant is mentioned by name as Clark’s childhood bully becomes a manager at one of the locations.