Starring Bradley Cooper and Castello

Arla Foods is employing what other consumer goods companies have long done, and actively placed its product in a movie – Bradley Cooper’s new outing, Burnt. It’s about a chef who is aiming to gain a third Michelin star for his restaurant. Now, whether or not it will be a blockbuster is uncertain, but Arla is certainly putting its money where its mouth is with this. Plus, movies now offer key opportunities to reach consumers in all sorts of venues, not just movie theatres. I myself haven’t seen any non-child movie in a real theatre for years – instead it’s on the plane, or on the television. But I still get the product placement when James Bond jumps into his car, or flashes the watch.

Dairy as a whole is getting clever about placement and reaching consumers globally through canny marketing. People may be more disposed towards buying consumer products if they see them used regularly in media outlets. And who can resist Castello? Not me, really. Actually, I am very predisposed towards most cheeses, I have discovered.

Interestingly, I was just reading a story today about the decline of soft drinks in the US, due to the never-ending battles over soda taxes in various states, along with the drive to make school children healthier. Like other countries, the US is waking up to the fact that sugary soft drinks offer a lot of fizz and little nutrition for growing bodies. Unlike milk, soft drinks don’t have a nutritious, healthy aspect to them – once the marketing dried up and the bad news arrived (in the form of obese children with rotting teeth), there was no place for the soft drink giants to hide.

Luckily for dairy, the truth is out, and we are marketing it. I might just go to a cinema.