No Grey Goose If You Don’t Get Loose!

So I had my genius boyfriend read my Britney Spears post and we got into a discussion/argument about what exactly constitutes product placement. He considers product placement when companies pay for their products to be included in a song, movie, TV show, or even in print media. I beg to differ.

I personally believe that product placement is any product placed in media—whether the company paid for it or not. Why? Because they re-enforce cultural views of the product, get consumers/listeners thinking about the product, and/or indirectly influence our purchasing decisions.

Have you heard T.I.’s “Get Loose," Fergie’s “London Bridge,” or Jamie Foxx’s “Blame It”? All of these songs reference the premium vodka, Grey Goose. Personally, I can easily sing, “No Grey Goose if you don’t get loose,” “That Grey Goose got your girl feeling loose,” and “Blame it on the Goose, got you feeling loose” from memory. Genius boyfriend argues that this reference cannot be counted as product placement because the point in mentioning the brand is not to promote it, but rather to highlight the status the brand signifies. Thanks for the support, bro. But by naming the brand, the artist is reinforcing society’s view that Grey Goose signifies status and money and getting the public to sing about the drink, thus ingraining a positive image of the product in our minds. The effect must be increased revenue for the brand. I’m no alcohol expert, but if I went into a liquor store without a budget and saw Grey Goose and Zyr vodka on the shelf, I’d sing “NO GREY GOOSE IF YOU DON’T GET LOOSE!” and you know what bottle I’d reach for. Oh, and what’s that bottle currently sitting your room, genius boyfriend? Not Zyr vodka!