How movies and TV shows create iconic home decor products

Cinema is art, but also industry, and advertising is the lifeblood of commerce. This was already very clear to the Lumière brothers when, in Laveuses (1896), they dedicated a few frames to focusing on Sunlight soap, used by one of the protagonists. This fusion of narrative and advertising foreshadowed a long evolution that would transform the way we communicate and influence consumption, eventually shaping what we know as product placement.

However, over the years, this practice, born primarily to reduce production costs, evolved into a powerful narrative element. Directors, increasingly concerned with creating realistic and immersive environments, began to integrate brands not only as simple ornaments, but also as tools capable of enriching the characterization of characters and lending depth to the story.

While some brands pay to be part of it, others appear to strengthen a context or character.

In fact, not all products appearing on screen are the result of a product placement strategy. While some brands pay to be part of the narrative, others appear because their presence defines and strengthens a context.

This is the case, for example, of the famous Barcelona chair, designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1929, an immediately recognizable icon of style and luxury that sets the tone for the environment in which it is found, and for this reason it is chosen in numerous productions.

Pedro Almodóvar is one of the masters of integrating brands and storytelling, and in his films, interior design is a true engine of expression, capable of revealing the subtleties of the characters. In The Room Next Door (2024), for example, a small box adorned with intricate Dolce & Gabbana motifs becomes the axis of a visual narrative that exalts the value of detail and aesthetic care. The director from Murcia chooses his furniture carefully, drawing on design classics as well as contemporary catalogs such as that of the Barcelona-based company Kettal.

Typically, when the director and set designer decide that a particular object might be useful for the story, they inform the production company, which may refuse to use its image, grant it for free, or in exchange for a royalty fee. In 1982, Steven Spielberg wanted to use M&M's to capture ET 's attention, but after Mars refused, he opted for Reese's Pieces instead. Two weeks after the film's release, sales of the candy increased by 70%, transforming a virtually unknown product into a pop icon.

The case of product placement itself is different. The fact that Tom Cruise wore Ray-Ban Aviators in Top Gun (1986) is the result of a precise advertising strategy by the eyewear brand, which opted for a massive presence in several productions of the time, managing to increase sales of that model by 40%. Giorgio Armani did the same, participating in films such as American Gigolo (1980) and The Sheltering Sky (1990), not to mention the James Bond saga, where every object is an integral part of the character's make-up.

Agent 007, in fact, is a style reference for cars, clothing, and watches (first Rolex, then Seiko, and finally Omega). Brands compete to appear in the adventures of history's most famous spy. In Golden Eye (1995), BMW spent three million dollars to replace the classic Aston Martin; Diamonds Are Forever (1971) reads like an interior design catalog, with pieces that after the film became icons of universal style and glamour, such as the Up armchair by B&B Italia, designed by Gaetano Pesce, or the Ribbon chair by Pierre Paulin.

The product placement market is worth around $23 billion.

Regardless of the mechanism that brings them to the screen, it's almost always an excellent investment for brands. According to a 2022 New York Times article, the product placement market is worth around $23 billion, and the truth is that in recent years the practice has reached somewhat blatant peaks, with a clear imbalance between advertising promotion and real narrative needs. Many episodes of the series Emily in Paris, for example, seem designed solely to justify the repeated exposure of a product.

However, the importance of brands continues to grow, justified by an excellent cost-benefit ratio, as content continues to reach new audiences over time without further expense, immortalizing a brand's appearance in an audiovisual media whose "shelf life" can be very long. Furthermore, Nielsen has found that viewers remember a product's appearance in a film 88% more than a traditional advertisement.

It's no surprise, then, that according to a study conducted by the app Taskrabbit, four out of ten Spaniards find that the atmospheres of television series—from the colorful living room of Friends to the midcentury style of Mad Men and the country vibe of Bridgerton —are a source of inspiration when decorating their homes. Globally, 26% of respondents admit to having been directly influenced by television shows or movies, and 42% even say they search for a specific piece of furniture after seeing it on screen. This trend is echoed with travel, clothing, technology, and even kitchen products.

Therefore, the brands' investment is worth it, especially since the proliferation of series and social media, which have multiplied their reach. If a few years ago, Sex and the City created the myths of the Fendi Baguette bag, Manolo Blahnik shoes, and the Hermès Birkin, something similar happened with Loro Piana and Jacques Marie Mage in Succession, elevating product placement from a simple aesthetic detail to a narrative element capable of defining the identity of the characters and, consequently, that of the brand itself.

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More recently, The White Lotus, the series about the "super-rich on vacation," has become a showcase for all those brands hoping to position themselves in the luxury sector: Four Seasons resorts , candles from Nest New York and Homesick, suitcases and toiletries from Away, chocolate from Compartés, beauty products from Supergoop! and Kiehl's, and even beach bags from Brunch. Even H&M has created a collection inspired by the equatorial atmospheres of the new season, set in Thailand.

The latest evolution of the phenomenon sees audiences "hunting" these inanimate on-screen protagonists almost in real time. In fact, accounts like the Instagram pages Seen On Set and Design Movie, by architect Marta Marostica, compile images from more or less famous films with detailed descriptions of the design objects and decorative elements they contain.

We live in an experiential world, and viewers no longer limit themselves to observing the products that contribute to the style of a story; they aspire to be part of that world. Today, sitting in front of a single screen is no longer enough, and series and movies are watched with a phone in hand. It wouldn't be surprising if, in the future, QR codes appeared during playback, allowing users to make a purchase in real time. And if not, just wait.