9 Movies That Were Really Just Feature-Length Adverts In Disguise
3. I, Robot
The first time in a futuristic sci-fi you see a modern day product advertised its cool. This isnt any phoney generic future; this is the future of the real world we live in. By the time you see it the second, third and tenth time its not smart; its tired, pulling you out of the action and highlighting were in a movie. In 2002 Minority Report showed it could be done in a fresh way, using a constant stream of personalised ads as a key narrative motivation. Two years later I, Robot showed no one had listened. Using CDs when everything else is futuristic is just short sighted, and Audi and Fed Ex have updates that pull you out of the action, but the real bug bear here is Converse All-stars. In the film we see Will Smith unboxing some Converse All-stars. Then we see him putting on the Converse All-stars. Later on he gets complimented and criticised for his Converse All-stars. Is it just me, or do you want to go out and buy some overpriced footwear thatll fall apart in six months? It seems like director Alex Proyas was trying to make some sly comment on product placement but couldnt quite find the parody line. It may not be the sole purpose of the film, but it certainly dominates its legacy.
