Rio was the top movie at the box office this weekend, and parents were probably happy to find that the film contained but a couple of passing brand mentions. This despite a host of brands, including Mercedes, TMD Friction and Mintex, being listed as official film "partners."

The most successful tie-in to the film's release has to be the Rio-branded edition of Angry Birds. A natural partnership, the version allows users to play a Rio-ized version of the runaway hit game.

The weekend's bigger product placement story was all about Scream 4, just the latest production from Hollywood to be overflowing with Apple product placement.Continue reading...

Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock dropped by The Colbert Report to hype The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, opening next week. We'll have a review in a couple weeks as well as an interview with the director.

Nothing Spurlock said about advertising was as shocking as this billboard for AMC's zombie series The Walking Dead — on the side of a building housing a funeral parlor.

As for this weekend in product placement, we begin with Keanu Reeves in a hit — literally — by a Prius.Continue reading...

The remake of Arthur (subbing in Russell Brand for Dudley Moore) vies for the top spot this weekend, and we'll have coverage of the film's product placements on Monday. For now, how many brands (other than the film's star) can you spot in the film's trailer?

Now a look at some other product placement news of the week that did not contain the term "Morgan Spurlock."Continue reading...