Crowd control barriers are such a ubiquitous presence at public events that they sometimes blend into the background and are not at the forefront of anyone’s consciousness. This is something that film and TV producers can take advantage of, by using these barriers as a vehicle for product placement.
Barriers are visible in many movies, TV shows, and commercials. They appear in street scenes, in scenes set at big events (parades, marathons, sporting events, rallies) and even in depictions of some crime scenes. The appearance of barriers in these settings come across and natural and “real life” to viewers.
But for studios and producers continually looking for opportunities to make money via product placement, the use of crowd control barriers can be an overlooked revenue solution.
At many public events, crowd control barriers are covered with vinyl jackets that feature the logo of the venue, company or team associated with the event. Sometimes these jackets feature the logos of an event’s corporate sponsor.
Whenever there is a movie (or TV program or video) scene set at a public event, producers or set designers can put crowd control barriers in the scene, and put jackets on those barriers. The jackets then become product placement space. The end result will not look like a forced product placement to viewers at all, but rather it will look like a very real-world situation they encounter all of the time, making it all the more appealing to advertisers.