Indefensible | The product placement trial

For two weeks and dust, Indefensible makes a statement in the placement of products, which infiltrate, not so subtly, between two cases at the courthouse.

The housewarming party of private detective Maxime Dubois (Mathieu Baron) and his lawyer roommate Kim Nolin (Julie Trépanier) took place around a box of Salvatoré pizza, very red, clearly visible. A bag of Café Dépôt coffee beans was lying on the kitchen counter of Max and Kim’s condo, always positioned at the right angle for the camera.

At the Lapointe-Macdonald office, it’s Café Dépôt and nothing else. At lunchtime, intern Mélodie (Naïla Louidort) and her colleague Kim enjoyed their meal accompanied by two huge salmon-colored cups from Café Dépôt. When prison officer Ouimet (Brigitte Lafleur) sat down with criminal lawyer André Lapointe (Michel Laperrière) in the meeting room, a ceramic mug from Café Dépôt was placed in front of her.

The main characters ofIndefensible drive cars provided by the Albi the giant group. Even better: a bottle bearing the Albi the giant logo was placed, clearly, on Ms.^e Lapointe. The previous week, the name of the popular car dealership appeared on a rolled-up newspaper.

Bottles of Genacol, supplements to relieve joint pain, proliferated next to the computer in a shady garage or on the table of an Arab family whose son was suspected of terrorism. Genacol’s link to the plot? None.

Then, in front of the courthouse, André Lapointe and judge Clara Fortin (Josée Deschênes) rekindled their flame while a taxi topped with a Videotron billboard waited behind them.

On -, the rival series STAT does not accept any advertising integration in its episodes. This is a choice of the producers at Aetios and not a ban by the broadcaster.

Yes, Quebec television is going through a slump and its artisans are struggling to finance it in other ways. Product placement is a profitable option to amortize the budget of a daily series, but this marketing tool must be used sparingly.

Viewers notice when a producer pushes well-known brands on them, which come out of left field. And the commercial parade ofIndefensible has annoyed several of you, me first. When it is subtle and organic, we tolerate this type of less invasive advertising. When it’s forced, you completely lose focus on the story.

I would like to point out here that it is product placement in fiction programs that interests me. In reality TV, the competitors ofOccupation double or those of My mother, your fatherwho do not contribute to the Union of Artists (UDA), happily drink a Zorah cream or a Carib beer without any restraint. It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet with sponsorship. Thank you Maple3 for this beautiful trip!

For an actor, it’s very different. The UDA tags this form of advertising very precisely. If a television producer asks an actor to manipulate or name a commercial product in a television series, he must a) obtain written permission from the actor, b) not demand exclusivity and c) offer an additional amount to the interpreter.

This explains why lawyers and police officersIndefensible do not touch the cups of Café Dépôt, for example. It would cost way too much. And that would defeat the primary purpose of product placement, which serves to soften the costs of manufacturing a series.

The compromise consists of placing the advertising objects in the setting, without the characters using them. M^e Lapointe never grabs the gourd of Albi the giant, which signed, in September 2023, a contract to become the exclusive automobile dealership ofIndefensible. However, the amount of the agreement was not specified.

Albi the giant wanted to add two vehicles in particular to TVA’s daily star: Léo Macdonald’s (Sébastien Delorme) Volvo XC90 and André Lapointe’s Genesis GV80, which target a more affluent clientele.

By adding the shots of a few seconds on a license plate or on a metal bottle, Albi the giant ensures visibility which varies between 2 and 4 minutes per complete season ofIndefensible. It doesn’t seem like much, but it’s a lot. Because this type of advertising cannot be skipped. It is endured, period.

And does it work? The impact of product placement is difficult to measure. “Our positioning in Indefensible has more of an effect on the company’s notoriety,” estimates Cathy Laroche, vice-president of communications, marketing and media at Albi le giant.

Éric Lefebvre, CEO of the MTY group, which notably operates the Café Dépôt brand, makes the same observation: “It is very difficult to measure the impact of such an initiative in the short term, but we are happy with the exposure that it will have given the brand,” he says.

Product placement in fiction shows will not disappear, we agree. Certainly, there are tips to make it less aggressive and more natural. A delivery truck There by IGA sliding in the background, it’s plausible, it’s credible. A box of pizza that is suitable for all occasions is harder to swallow.