The Most Shameless Product Placements in Music Videos

MsMojo

Why do these music videos make us want a drink Diet Coke while riding a Segway? Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at obvious, blatant and often cringey ads hidden in these musical shorts.

Transcript

00:00 "Hello, hello, baby, you called, I can't hear a thing. I have got no service in the club, you see, see."

00:07 Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most

00:11 shameless product placements in music videos.

00:14 "Tonight we're going hard, hard, hard, ha-ha-ha-hard. Just like the world is ours, ours, ours, ours, ours."

00:22 For this list, we'll be looking at obvious, blatant, and often cringey ads hidden in these

00:27 musical shorts. Which shameless product placement did you actually love? Let us know in the comments.

00:33 10. Papi - Jennifer Lopez

00:36 "Just one small bite, it's much stronger than you think."

00:40 After eating a magic cookie, legions of suitors are suddenly driven to win

00:44 Jennifer Lopez's heart. The only thing more ridiculous than the suggestion that she'd need

00:48 any magic to attract attention was how much product placement was present. There are

00:53 multiple shots of the then-top-of-the-line BlackBerry phone throughout the video.

00:57 During her walk, she just so happens to pass a Toss jewelry store. At one point,

01:03 we get a lingering shot on a bottle of Crown Royal before a man desperately tries to offer it to her.

01:09 "You got good proof. You sure?"

01:12 And did we mention that she dodges suitors in her Fiat? While we came into this video

01:17 hoping for a silly romp, our excitement got lost among the product placement.

01:22 "The craziest thing has happened."

01:24 9. I'm The One - DJ Khaled

01:27 Featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne.

01:31 When the camera in this music video isn't squarely aimed at one of the many models that feature

01:36 within, it's 100% focused on trying to sell you stuff.

01:40 "Yeah, you're looking at the truth, the money never lie, no, I'm the one, yeah."

01:45 It all starts with the Beats earphone Khaled puts into his ear at the beginning of the video.

01:50 From there, it's an absolute free-for-all.

01:53 "When I met her in the club, I asked her who she felt.

01:56 Then she went and put that booty on that Gucci belt."

01:59 Lil Wayne uses a bamboo rum like a cell phone. Additionally, nearly everyone gets a bottle of

02:05 Luc Milaire Rare Luxe Champagne. And if you feel like buying clothes from Supreme,

02:10 or another major company, it's probably because the featured artists are walking advertisements.

02:15 It's hard to go more than 30 seconds without someone in "I'm the One" trying to sell you something.

02:21 "Yeah, hear you sick of all those other imitators. Don't let the only real one intimidate ya."

02:28 Number 8 - Hands to Myself - Selena Gomez

02:31 In the music video for Hands to Myself, Selena Gomez plays a stalker who can't keep her hands

02:36 off of the stuff belonging to the objects of her desires.

02:39 "I want you all to myself. Your metaphorical gin and juice."

02:47 She breaks into his house, puts on his clothes, and of course,

02:50 listens to music through his Beats Pill speaker.

02:54 It's admittedly pretty common to see the audio device advertised in a music video.

02:58 However, Hands to Myself is strangely obnoxious about it.

03:01 "I want it on all the same pills."

03:07 Multiple bedroom shots make sure to squeeze the device in.

03:10 It's even pretty visible when Gomez's character is getting arrested.

03:14 Oh, and speaking of visible, there's a beyond-obvious cut to the

03:18 BMW logo that is impossible to ignore.

03:21 The video clearly couldn't keep its advertisements to itself.

03:25 "I mean I could, but why would I want to?"

03:27 Number 7 - Ciroc Star - Chester French & Clinton Sparks

03:36 Featuring Diddy and Jadakiss

03:39 Just in case the title didn't make it clear enough, the short makes it 1 million percent

03:43 clear that it's here to promote Ciroc vodka right when the song begins.

03:47 "Don't keep me out of this, boy. I'm a Ciroc star."

03:53 The title tells you straight away that the liquor company is presenting the video.

03:57 From that point on, we get way too many shots of Ciroc bottle placements,

04:02 and the absolutely shameless lyrics take time to declare this vodka as one of the best drinks on

04:07 the planet. "Enjoy the thrillin', Ciroc billboards on top of buildings, stand on shaky ground. I'm

04:13 steady, half a billion stashed, I'm ready." Maybe we should have known what we were getting into

04:17 when we saw the title of the song. However, Ciroc's star's lack of restraint ensured we

04:23 were hit with a tidal wave of product placement. "Yeah man, we just feeling good.

04:30 It's the hands when you're a Ciroc star, baby."

04:32 6. Laugh Now, Cry Later Drake featuring Lil Durk

04:36 We're not sure about crying later, but you'll be laughing now while watching the ridiculous

04:40 advertising in this Drake video. Actually, this isn't so much product placement as it is

04:46 full-on company placement. "I took a half and she took the whole thing, slow down, baby."

04:54 Drake didn't just wear Nike clothing and flash the logo a few times. Instead, he went down to

04:59 Beaverton, Oregon and filmed the video at the actual Nike headquarters. He teamed up with Lil

05:05 Durk, internet celebs, and athletes to play on the company's campus. "Bringin' Drake to the line,

05:10 surround Drake, around Drake. Even though I got a case, I'm a do it with a tape."

05:16 Drake also has a shopping spree in the Nike store. Oh, and did we mention that a skit at the

05:22 three-and-a-half-minute mark features clothing from the brand? Honestly, this short feels less

05:27 like a music video and more like an extended Nike commercial. "I know that they had the crib

05:33 going crazy down bad. What they had didn't last, damn baby." Number five, we are who we are. Kesha,

05:41 you'll definitely be in a good mood to go out and dance after you see this video's great makeup,

05:46 happy partygoers, and the plenty of fish dating website? "DJ, turn it up. It's about damn time

05:54 to live it up. I'm so sick of you so serious. It's making my brain delirious." For some reason,

05:59 a DJ duo in the video spend time at work selecting songs and their next dating partners. We thought

06:06 we were imagining this product plug until the video cut back to it a second time, and a third

06:11 time. Admittedly, the four cutaway shots to bottles of Revolution tequila weren't subtle

06:18 either, but at least we can say advertising a drink fits with the theme of the party-themed

06:23 video. We're still trying to figure out who thought a plenty of fish plug would be anything

06:29 but laughable here. "We know we're superstars. We are who we are." Number four, we can't stop,

06:36 Miley Cyrus. Viewers see lots of strange things during Miley Cyrus' video for "We Can't Stop,"

06:42 but the french fry skull and hot dog piñata couldn't distract us from all the products

06:47 that were shoved in our faces. "Doing whatever we want. This is our house. This is our room."

06:55 Before we even see Cyrus on screen, we get a shot of a Beats Pill speaker. Less than 30 seconds

07:01 later, we get a tight close-up of an Eos lip balm before the singer applies some. "Cause we gonna

07:08 go all night, till we see the sunlight. All right, all right." Cyrus' sunglasses and dope

07:15 bodysuit were also for sale. The advertisements here might not seem that bad on paper, but the

07:21 fact that we saw a product before the singer suggested what the filmmakers really wanted to

07:27 focus on when they made this video. "And we can't stop. And we won't stop." Number three,

07:36 Telephone, Lady Gaga featuring Beyonce. "Stop callin', stop callin', I don't wanna think anymore.

07:44 Why is this music video almost 10 minutes long? It's probably because they had to fit in all the

07:53 products. Sorry I cannot hear you, I'm kinda busy. I'm kinda busy, I'm kinda busy."

08:01 The song itself doesn't start until almost the three-minute mark. By then, we've gotten a shot

08:07 of a Virgin Mobile cell phone and Diet Coke cans in Lady Gaga's hair. We also see plenty of fish

08:13 return to music videos on a Beats Limited Edition HP Envy laptop around four and a half minutes in.

08:20 And during the "Let's Make a Sandwich" scene, Gaga breaks out the Miracle Whip and Wonder Bread.

08:26 The product placement person should get a featuring credit, along with Beyonce on this one.

08:32 Number two, Focus, Ariana Grande. At the beginning of the music video for Ariana Grande's Focus,

08:42 Grande can be seen writing on a phone the words "Focus on me." The question then becomes,

08:48 is she talking about herself? Or do the makers of the video want us to focus

08:52 on the phone, which happens to be a Samsung Galaxy device?

08:56 While the camera's attention is focused on Grande most of the time, the phone once again

09:10 takes centre stage later as she and her dancers all take selfies. This is followed by choreography

09:15 featuring Grande and her dancers clothed in outfits covered with stars.

09:20 Hey, are their outfits another reference to Samsung Galaxy? Or has this product

09:31 placement warped our minds? We'll leave it to you to decide.

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09:56 Number one, Rock 'n' Roll, Avril Lavigne. Rock 'n' Roll arguably features the most

10:03 shameless and fun example of product placement. This is mainly because the singer seems fully

10:08 self-aware of what she's shilling and has fun with it. The video begins with Lavigne's phone

10:14 ringing while in a glass of water. Not only does this show the durability of the phone,

10:18 but the singer's line here is absolutely hilarious.

10:21 But she's not done. After we see the logo, Lavigne takes another quick dig at the product placement.

10:31 "Yes? Okay, well how much more obvious can I make it?"

10:34 And if that doesn't make you laugh, seeing the singer defeat a bear shark before Billy Zane

10:39 rides a Segway to space will. The self-aware way the video tackled shameless product placement

10:45 made it a lot more bearable. "Okay, well I'm sorry if you don't get it by now,

10:49 I'm gonna have to say goodbye, sir."

10:51 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms Mojo,

10:57 and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.

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