Good news if you hate seeing the Beats Pill in music videos: soon it could get replaced by some other product you need right now. The Independent reports that Universal Music Group will allow advertisers to place their products into music videos already uploaded to YouTube.
Under the plan, the question of whether or not music videos are art would get even more complicated, as the format would literally become an ad space for a rotating lineup of products. Companies will be able to buy campaigns within the videos, and once they expire, get replaced by a different item. This is possible through a technology developed by Mirriad, a global ad agency promising "native invideo [sic] advertising." The project will launch in a video from super-DJ Avicii, putting bottles ofGrand Marnier liquor in the clip and subbing it out for other products after a certain period of time.
According to The Independent, "[t]he move is designed to speed up the production process, removing the need for labels and directors to hold lengthy meetings with brands about exactly how the video should look and how their products will be shown off." They forgot to add "and make a shitload more money," but you know, semantics.
This is all very good stuff which I'm sure will appealto my young urban sensibilities and insecurities. I'm 100% not regretting not signing up for that one-way trip to Mars. Watch Avril Lavigne's "Rock N Roll" video below, which features a kind of placement which may be obsolete in the near future.
Art or advertising? Music videos will soon have updateable product placement by Jordan Darville | Chart Attack.
