Cisco is not yet in the top of the Brandcameo product placement leaderboard. But with recent efforts, it might be soon.

Cisco has appeared in 2009 blockbusters He's Just not That Into You, G.I. Joe and Transformers. The latter showing, product placement analytics firm Front Row estimated to be worth near $10 million. (Though accurate product placement valuation has long been questionable.) And earlier this year, Cisco's Webex technology could be seen in Marvel Comics titles.

But last night was Cisco's largest, most prominent, and maybe most successful Hollywood tie-in yet.Continue reading...

As noted by our brandcameo product placement tracking team, the Twinkies brand was the recent beneficiary of a load of on-screen promotion in the film Zombieland.

While its brand may seem obvious and one-dimensional, Twinkies' complex character actually makes them a film favorite. They are, all at once, iconic Americana: nutritional garbage, proof of man's triumph over nature, and self-deprecatingly modest. From Die Hard's Sgt. Powell to Grease's Jan to Bill and Ted's Bill and Ted, a Twinkie-eating protagonist is a decent, fun person who doesn't take him- or herself too seriously.Continue reading...

Vince Vaughn knows Guitar Hero. And he should. His character, Dave, sells Guitar Heros for a living in the romantic comedy Couples Retreat. When the film’s plot escalates to an intense and hilarious jam session between Dave and his island nemesis, Stanley (Peter Serafinowicz), the stage is set for a Hollywood-size product placement. But Guitar Hero has many supporting cast members, as this week's brandcameo reports:

Food and beverage brands dominate this film as Budweiser, Bud Light, Pepsi, Starbucks, Froot Loops and Applebee’s receive screen time – whether verbal or visual – in the film. Tech brands Apple, PowerPoint and Guitar Hero have prominent brandcameos, as do apparel brands Under Armour and Polo. Club Med, Sandals, Volkswagen, Ford and Solistone tiles round out the brandcameo roundup.

Written by Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, Couples Retreat explores modern-day marriage at mid-life, and the storyline is framed by product placements that reveal youthful desires for Froot Loops and the adult reality that no one wants to end up old and alone at Applebees. None of these product placements, however, threatens the dominance of the reigning champion in our brandcameo listing of product placements in No. 1 films.

Visit our brandcameo page for next week’s debut films and brandchannel’s complete reference list of product placements in this and other top-grossing films.

Thanks to Woody Harrelson, star of last weekend's US top-grossing Zombieland, the world now knows vegan Twinkies. His new film's plot revolves around the spongy cakes, which he spends munching as he looks for the last Twinkie on earth. As Michelle Boisson reports:

While Twinkie, by far, receives the most prominent brandcameo in the film—being totally integrated in the plot—in reality, Harrelson couldn’t eat the Hostess brand. Being a raw vegan, he had to have special Twinkie-like cakes made for him.

Zombieland may be a dangerous place, but it's also a brand fiesta. Many products make appearances in the comedy-horror film, ranging from the AK-47 to Cadillac Escalade, and from Animal Crackers to Purell. (See the brandcameo page for brandchannel's complete reference list of product placements in this and other top-grossing films.)

One well-known social media site also shows up, though it most likely didn't pay for the mention. According to Jesse Eisenberg's character Columbus, the best thing about Zombieland is: “No more Facebook status updates.”

Sony/Columbia's animated Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs garnered $30.3 million this past weekend at the US box office, and joins our brandcameo listing of product placements in No. 1 films.

Flint Lockwood, the ambitious and quirky protagonist (voice by Saturday Night Live star Bill Hader), is determined to invent a machine that will change the world. So he develops the Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator, or FLDSMDFR for short, which turns water into food. However, when Flint’s invention skyrockets into the atmosphere, his little town of Swallow Falls begins to experience rain in the form of cheeseburgers, donuts, ice cream storms, spaghetti tornados and other foods on a daily basis.Continue reading...