STRIDE GUM; Product Placement at it’s Best or Worst?

The episode Hero, starring Pete Ross. Pete has his share of terrible episodes but this is a whole new playing field for Pete Ross “The Boss”.

How great can product placement get when it moves from subtly being placed in a drawer for different shots to having an entire episode written about the brand or product.

Stride Gum; Last Long and Gives you Super Powers! I think it has a ring to it. Try the green gum and see if you get elastic arms too.

Pete is not my favourite character and the episode does have merit for the scenes that don’t include the ludicrous product placement but in all I was just saddened but the display.

Episodes starts and there is Pete, Kara and Jimmy at a concert in the Stride Gum factory, not just a gum factory or a factory but the Stride Gum factory. Oh and the gum was left on a crack where somehow Kryptonite was there and it affected the gum and ONLY gave Pete super powers.

He grabs a the green package, holds it perfectly so the camera can see the brand and then opens it to grab a wrapped piece of green gum, that glows before he puts it in his mouth. Then just in the nick of time he saves Kara with his Elastic Man powers. (who by the way is a DC Hero).

The entire episode pushes the gum, Chloe stating it’s slogan and Pete constantly chewing it and having the package on his person and only when he is pushes down and looses the gum is he in trouble. The gum may be full of Kryptonite but it’s the Hero in this story.

How do you feel about Product Placement on this level? It isn’t just the gum in the desk drawer it the plot of an episode.