Films and television shows are known for integrating branded content — whether a character is wearing a specific shoe label or entering a store, for example. A new study is breaking down those on-screen labels with the greatest reach.
British platform Merchant Machine has analyzed 2,227 movies and 890 TV shows (encompassing all episodes and seasons) as seen on the blog Product Placement, and is showcasing its findings in a new analyzed study. The site’s results reveal how often certain brands appear throughout the media — categorized by brand names, product and more — as of July 2023, with the most frequent brand placements appearing in movies including “Back to the Future” (1985), Sweet Home Alabama ” (2002), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” (2006) and “Sex and the City” (2008).
Within the study’s clothing and shoe findings, Nike led the pack overall with 912 branded film placements, followed by Adidas (590), Ray-Ban (273), Converse (148) and Under Armour (137). Nike‘s shoes and sneakers were also the top branded products seen in films (507), third overall beneath Apple’s MacBook computer (867) and iPhone models (623).
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Where specific clothing and shoe products were concerned, Nike’s were spotted the most compared to Adidas‘ shoes and sneakers (271), Ray-Ban’s sunglasses (241) and Converse’s shoes and sneakers (142). Lower-ranking listings also showed popular apparel to include Adidas jackets (137), Nike T-shirts (126) and JanSport backpacks (109) across the surveyed films.
Within television, Nike was the second most-placed brand overall with 3,038 placements — falling just below Apple, which held the most placements with 5,771 appearances. Under Nike, apparel labels with descending placements included Adidas (1,057), Vans (489), Converse (379), Ralph Lauren (373), Gucci (351), Carhartt (336), Ray-Ban (323), New Balance (302) and Lacoste (265).
TV also proved a popular medium for Nike, which was the most-placed apparel brand from the shows surveyed through its shoes and sneakers — shown 2,169 times, placing second overall beneath Apple’s MacBook computers (3,199). Adidas shoes and sneakers followed with 472 placements, along with Vans shoes and sneakers (439), Converse shoes and sneakers (363), New Balance shoes and sneakers (292), Ray-Ban sunglasses (271) and Adidas jackets (236).
Overall, it’s clear shoe brands can hold staying power across film and television mediums — particularly sneaker-focused labels, as proven by Nike, Adidas, Vans and Converse’s rankings and frequent appearances. How the aforementioned brands — among others — will rank in the future will depend on their upcoming appearances in the media.
About the Author:
Aaron Royce is the Digital Editor for Footwear News, where he writes stories on celebrity style, brand collaborations and in-depth profile interviews. Prior to joining Footwear News, Aaron wrote and interned for publications including PAPER, Grazia and the Daily Front Row. He currently holds a B.S. in mass communications from Virginia Commonwealth University.
