Will Farrell Strikes Product Placement Gold 

Again with Blades of Glory 

         ANN ARBOR, MI, April 2, 2007 – Will Farrell, who took the practice of product placements in motion pictures to a new level last year with his NASCAR-themed comedy Talladega Nights:  The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, has once again provided a platform for brands to take center stage. This time around, Farrell’s figure skating spoof, Blades of Glory, which claimed the number one spot at the box office this past weekend with a take of $33 million, featured more than 30 corporate logos throughout the 93-minute film.

          According to research conducted by Joyce Julius and Associates, which specializes in measuring the impact of sponsorships and promotions across all forms of media, Orbitz, which sponsors the film’s mythical championship event, had its logo appear for one minute, 45 seconds (1:45). The brand was also mentioned on two occasions—leading to an overall exposure value of more than $500,000. 

          The opening-weekend exposure value is calculated by comparing the estimated number of people who saw the film, along with the on-screen time and mentions to the cost of reaching the same size audience through traditional advertising.

         Other brands enjoying significant product placements during the film included Puma (1:37/$398,185), adidas (1:26/$353,030) and Nationwide (1:24/$344,820).

         In comparison, the record-setting opening weekend of Talladega Nights last year saw Wonder Bread receive 11:32 of on-screen time and two verbal references, which calculated to an exposure value of $4,272,000.

        The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Joyce Julius and has been measuring the media impact and fan perceptions of corporate sponsorships in sports and entertainment since 1985.

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