A Successful Product Placement

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They're drinking Macallan 12.

They're drinking Macallan 12.

So the other day my wife and I went with friends to see an advance screening of BARNEY'S VERSION at the Opera Plaza, and throughout Paul Giamatti is pounding back the Macallan 12. Always with the label facing the camera. The movie covers about 40 years of his life, and talk about product loyalty, this guy is drinking it all the way. Never Macallan 18. Not even after he becomes rich. He's sticking with the 12.

Now I KNOW about product placements. But as I'm watching, even as Giamatti on screen is playing a guy who is looking worse and worse, this Macallan 12 is looking better and better. I'm thinking, hey, I have a bottle of Macallan 12 at home. Why don't I ever drink it? Look how pretty it looks up there . . .

So afterwards we go to Max's Opera Cafe and have dinner, and to drink I order . . . what do you think I order? Of course, the Macallan 12. I took one sip and wondered why this Barney character wasted his whole life drinking this stuff. And I remembered why I don't drink it.

The movies. It is so easy to get taken in, maybe even easier to get taken in when you know you're being taken in and so you think it doesn't count. They photographed that bottle so it looked like Marilyn Monroe, and I went for it.

Posted By: Mick LaSalle (Email, Twitter) | December 19 2010 at 05:57 PM

Listed Under: MOVIES AND LIFE