Reese’s Pieces sales skyrocketed after ‘E.T.’, rising 65% in the month after the film’s release. Best of all for Hershey’s, the opportunity for product placement came about after its rival, Mars, refused to allow M&Ms to appear in the film
Guy Fawkes masks became popular after ‘V For Vendetta’.
Etch A Sketch sales increased after ‘Toy Story 2’ and helped the Ohio Art Company return to profitability.
In 1986, following the smash-hit summer release of Top Gun, naval recruiters around America reported an increase in inquiries from prospective sailors. In a report by the Los Angeles Times, recruiters pointed to Top Gun as a deciding factor for many. The US Navy didn’t officially endorse the film – regulations prohibit the American armed forces from doing so – but Top Gun easily worked as well as an actual recruiting video would have. One recruiter estimated that 90% of the new applicants she’d spoken to had seen the film – a figure that’s likely not fully coincidental.
In the 2003 remake of The Italian Job, the heist crew uses several getaway vehicles that almost instantly became as popular as the movie itself. BMW’s Mini Cooper is a tiny hatchback, and its small size allows for all kinds of maneuverability. The crew uses them to do everything from driving on subway tracks to speeding up and down stairways.
According to Motor File, sales of the $20,000 Mini Cooper (in 2002) rose 20%. BMW didn’t have to pay for its product placement, either. Instead, the company gave the production 32 Mini Coopers to demolish during filming.
Shwarma sales increased in some areas after the post-credits scene in ‘Avengers’.
Pinot sales rose and Merlot sales dropped after the release of ‘Sideways’.
Sales of Vespa scooters increased after ‘Roman Holiday’.
The Wayfarer model of Ray-Ban sunglasses, known for its thick, black frames, first went on the market in 1952. By the early 1980s, the company was considering discontinuing the glasses due to flagging sales. But then an appearance on the cover of GQ, followed by Tom Cruise’s memorable scene in Risky Business, revived the Wayfarer.
Combined, the cover and the movie helped Wayfarer sales jump from 18,000 to 360,000 by the end of 1983, as reported by The Los Angeles Times. In 1987, sales rose to 2 million.
Rentals of Budget trucks reportedly increased after ‘Home Alone’.
Torn, off-the-shoulder sweatshirts became popular after ‘Flashdance’.
Speeding tickets rose after the release of ‘The Fast and the Furious’.
The .44 Magnum became popular only after ‘Dirty Harry’.
Interest in – and the subsequent abandonment of – Dalmatians rose after ‘101 Dalmatians’.
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