
Why Are All Our Movies Ads Now?
From How We Got Here with Chris Kohler by Kohler Media
July 13, 2026 · 53 min · Season 1 · Episode 7
About this episode
This episode explores the prevalence of product placement in movies and its historical roots in Hollywood.
When we watch a movie we see 4-5 brands every 10 minutes. The advertising is hidden in plain sight and this episode goes looking for where and how that trick first came to Hollywood. E.T. and a bag of Reese's Pieces, Lois Lane chain smoking Marlboros, Happy Gilmore’s Subway t-shirts… and Jerry McGuire taking Reebok’s money and then screwing them over. All steps on the path to the situation audiences now find themselves in - marketing campaigns dressed up as movies. All that… plus a two truths and a lie with a twist - one "casual" mention in this very episode was a paid placement. Check out Cool Shirtz - https://shirtz.cool/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Topics covered
- advertising
- Hollywood
- product placement
- marketing
- film history
Keywords
- product placement
- advertising
- movies
- Hollywood
- marketing campaigns
Sponsors
Cool Shirtz
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Marlboro, Subway, Reebok
Products: Reese's Pieces
More episodes of How We Got Here with Chris Kohler
- How IKEA tricks you... over and over · September 6, 2026 · 51 min
- Why Uber Eats Is About To Get Even More Expensive · August 24, 2026 · 53 min
- How Housing Became So Broken · August 10, 2026 · 1h 1m
- The Toxic Economy of Gaming · July 27, 2026 · 50 min
- Hang on... was Tupperware a pyramid scheme? · June 29, 2026 · 46 min
- Ryanair: How The Bad Guy Won · June 15, 2026 · 50 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the How We Got Here with Chris Kohler podcast page.