Paid and Unpaid product placement in Lady Gaga’s Telephone

By branjoseph, February 18, 2011

I know this seems random, but with all the talk of product placement in music videos (Hold It Against Me) I remembered this article about the varied reasons for such placements. Sometimes there are very good reasons, some artistic, and sometimes it’s really the record labels decision.

• Wonder Bread: Unpaid. Used in a sequence showing Gaga poisoning diner customers, because Gaga wanted to contrast the poisoning with an all-American brand
• Miracle Whip: Paid. Used in the same scene—and for the same reason—as Wonder Bread; seems to be part of the spread’s new, edgier campaign.
• Diet Coke: Unpaid. It was Gaga’s idea to curl her hair with Diet Coke cans in the video as an homage to her mother.
• Virgin Mobile: The cell phone in the video is a nod to the company, a mobile sponsor of Gaga’s Monster Ball tour.
• Polaroid: Camera and photo booth featured acknowledge Gaga’s role as Polaroid’s creative director.
• Heartbeats headphones and Beats laptop: Unpaid. An extension of her partnerships with Interscope Music and Hewlett Packard.
• PlentyofFish.com: Unclear. Possibly the weirdest deal of the bunch; result of the dating site’s partnership with Interscope.