You sort of expect it from the likes of Michael Bay. The Transformers movies themselves are nothing but shiny products, with nary a bit of artistry involved. It's par for the course when you're launching a billion-dollar franchise which has its roots in a line of children's toys from the eighties. Where it's less expected is in the more prestige side of the Hollywood blockbuster. David Fincher is held up as one of the more ground-breaking filmmakers in the industry, one who doesn't compromise even when adapting best selling novels, as evidenced by the R-rating he chased after and secured for his take on The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Last year he gave Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl a spin, and, good lord is there a lot of product placement in what's otherwise a stylish, serious-minded murder thriller. It was just behind Age Of Extinction in terms of numbers, with 48 brands getting a plug over the course of the movie, from everyone swigging from Starbucks take-out cups, drinking Leffe beer, and the missing ads on a KFC. Which other 2014 movies were chock full of product placement. Share the ones we missed down in the comments.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
