Report: Apple’s Product Placement Is Rampant in ‘The Morning Show’
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Apple’s new original TV shows feature big names from Hollywood and beyond. But they also, unsurprisingly, star Apple’s own physical products.
The Cupertino tech giant’s iPhones, Macs and other devices are pretty clearly visible in quite a few scenes in The Morning Show, one of Apple TV+’s initial flagship programs.
Here’s just how many devices The Wall Street Journal spotted in a recent tally count.
Apple Product Placement
According to the report, Apple devices are visible in an average of 32 camera shots in each episode of The Morning Show (for a total of 320 shots across the first season).
In about one-third of those shots, an Apple logo is clearly visible.
The WSJ also notes that in one four-second scene, as many as nine Apple products are visible as two characters from the show walk through a newsroom.
As the publication notes, the show “wastes little time” giving the company’s own products some screen time.
- The first scene of the first episode, for example, quickly fits in an appearance by both a Mac and an iPhone.
- Just twenty seconds after that scene, Steve Carrell’s character is awakened by another iPhone.
Other TV shows and movies feature iPhones, of course. But the WSJ points out that the Apple device makes appearances so often in the show that some viewers might find the product a bit overzealous.
Apple’s handset isn’t the only device featured on the show — other products that pop up include MacBooks, iMacs, iPads and AirPods.
While not every character on the show wears an Apple Watch, the company’s flagship wearable does make an appearance fairly often.
Even the HomePod, with its 5 percent market share, makes an appearance in an executive producer character’s office.
Apple TV+ Response
Product placement aside, the flagship Apple TV+ series officially launched last week to mixed critical reception. But, interestingly, the response from viewers has been a lot more favorable, according to review aggregators like Rotten Tomatoes.
The show, which stars Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell, doesn’t come cheap, however. It reportedly costs as much as $15 million to make per episode. So it would stand to reason that Apple would take the opportunity to promote its other products.
Product placement in media has doubled since 2012, according to research firm PQ Media. But people close to “The Morning Show” said that producers weren’t under pressure to include Apple products in the show and that Apple didn’t pay for any product placement.
On the other hand, platforms like Apple TV+ could ostensibly help boost Apple’s hardware segment over the long term — if they are successful, of course.
“In a changing world where people watch less traditional television … how do you reach them?” said PQ Media President Patrick Quinn. “One way to do that is to launch your own streaming service and show off your product. Not everyone can do that, but Apple can.”