Approximately 90% of us skip adverts that come before (or during) a video that we’ve clicked on. As a result, brands have recently put a lot more energy into product placement. Ofcom has defined product placement as ‘when a company pays a TV channel or a programme-maker to include its products or brands in a programme’ – for instance, a TV presenter being paid to wear a particular designers’ clothes.

The latest example of this is in Netflix’s most viewed show of all time – Squid Game. The hit show reached over 111 million views just in its first month and reached number one in 90 countries. Since its airing, white slip-on Vans worn by the characters have experienced an incredible 7,800% rise in sales. On top of this, according to Lyst, general white slip-on shoes have seen a 97% uptick in search volume.

Another recent example is the new James Bond movie, No Time to Die. It contains a whole 5 minutes of product placement for the car manufacturing brand Aston Martin, alongside the watch brand Omega (which Bond wears throughout the whole movie), for which a YouTube collaboration video racked up 43 million views. Another brand which invested highly in product placement for this movie is Heineken, who paid $45 million for the film to include their bottled drink, replacing the classic martini glass.

According to ScienceDirect, strong, positive placement increases brand memory, brand salience and attitude towards the brand. Not only this, but when there is a brand-plot connection, a more positive and stronger cognitive connection emerges. As more brands realise this, I expect much more product placement will be used in the very near future.