Documentarian Morgan Spurlock’s (Super Size Me, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?) newest film, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, adds a new self-referential layer to brain-crushing cinema. Placing advertising and marketing in his crosshairs, Spurlock has made a movie about selling the very film the audience is watching.

The film, officially titled POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, takes product placement and blows it out to Spaceballs-like proportions. And like that film from Mel Brooks, it becomes self-referential in that the movie characters are talking about is the actual movie the audience is watching. Outside of the film within a film premise, it takes an in-depth look at advertising, marketing, and how people perceive brands in the media. Showing the lengths companies will go to infuse their brands into pop-culture, Spurlock shines a light into the shadowy practices employed by some of the biggest consumer brands in the business.

The in-your-face advertising isn’t just relegated to the silver screen. Wearing a suit emblazoned with logos and looking like something out of the NASCAR circuit, Spurlock has made the talk show rounds promoting the film and showing just how far into our culture advertising has seeped. While he’s mocking the extremes companies will go to advertise, he’s also embracing the very same tactics to sell his movie. Regardless of whether or not you grew up in a home with lead-based paint, this is complex stuff.

View the trailer below:

Few things in life are more boring than sitting through the hackneyed advertisements that precede the dimmed lights, trailers, and eventual feature presentation of the movie theater experience. Sure, there are some yucks to be had memorizing the looped trivia about rom-coms of the recent past and pretending to be a human IMDB when your buddy returns from a bathroom and popcorn run, but for the most part, this is an excruciating slice of life. And therefore it’s a tremendous advertising opportunity for anyone up to the task of creating quality content! We’re talking about a captive audience with no remote control to fast forward and a painful aisle exit process standing in their way. They are, quite literally, waiting to be entertained. For the love of all that is good, will someone please help these people? Timbaland, NASCAR, and Paula Abdul to the rescue! Wait, what?

To enhance the pre-show experience, Screenvision is plotting to makeover that 20-minute block right before the movie with celebrity and sponsored entertainment. With about half of the audience seated at least 10 minutes before the lights go down, it’s really a no-brainer.

The likes of Timbaland, NASCAR, and (it’s rumored) Paula Abdul have already signed on to create exclusive video content that marketers can sponsor during this time. For example, Timbaland (music producer Timothy Mosley) will premiere a series of 60- to 90-second spots in which he discusses his influences and chooses songs to broadcast behind more traditional ads.

And it gets even better. Screenvision wants to include mobile extensions, which means advertisers could offer coupons downloadable only in the theater, or moviegoers could, say, send a text and get information on Timbaland’s tour dates. The possibilities are endless. If the endeavor succeeds, Screenvision imagines expanding to other places like theater lobbies or airplanes.

You can thank your lucky stars that soon enough going to the movies won’t mean having to learn—by sheer repetition— what brand of sneakers Julia Roberts wore in Runaway Bride. Hooray!

(via The New York Times)

This year at MIDEM, a gathering in France for the music industry elite, a number of panels focused on branding. Execs from Converse, NASCAR, PepsiCo, and Carhartt shed some light on the current state of music-based branding efforts. Advertising and the music industry are getting in harmony, Brandweek explains.

Another highlight is Converse’s Connectivity series. With the help of Pharrell Williams, Santigold and Julian Casablancas, it released its popular, exclusive track, “My Drive Thru,” which illustrated the brand’s originality and rich cultural history.

Both projects work with artists to push relationships past logo-slapping or product-placement—together they create something real.