And now, the anonymous Apples

Question

Here's a weird one from TV...Apple laptops are showing up in all kinds of dramatic shows. Sometimes they have the Apple logo on the lid. Sometimes they have a generic disc.I'm assuming the ones with the logo are a case of product placement, but who's fooling whom when they take such a distinctive product and erase the identificatioon?Another distraction like 555 phone numbers and anonymous Nikons."If you can, tell me something happy."- Marybones

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Here's a weird one from TV... Apple laptops are showing up in all kinds of dramatic shows. Sometimes they have ... a case of product placement, but who's fooling whom when they take such a distinctive product and erase the identificatioon?[/nq]Right on both counts; Apple heavily promotes its product line via placement and has for years. Greeking mostly happens when a production doesn't want to be tied down to Apple's products, because Apple doesn't (generally) like villains to use Apple products, and doesn't (generally) like shows to feature older products, or products that are worn or damaged. On the old Drew Carey Show, all of the computers at the office were brand-identified Apple desktops, but no one outside of the office ever really had much of a computer.

On a show like CSI: Where ever, the good guys have computers (often that do things that no computer can actually do), but the bad guys often do too. No one really wants their computer to be the one the terrorists are using to hack into the Pentagon, so out come the greeking supplies.
For that matter, I don't know that Apple's the only laptop out there that's in a flat, brushed metal case. If you don't see the Apple logo, it actually might not be an Apple computer.
[nq:1]Another distraction like 555 phone numbers and anonymous Nikons.[/nq]
As I've told many a director over the years - if they're paying that close attention to the set dressing, there's something desperately wrong with the rest of the show.

Life Continues, Despite
Evidence to the Contrary
Steven

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]On a show like CSI: Where ever, the good guys have computers (often that do things that no computer can actually do)...[/nq]
You know, I've often wondered why they don't sit round a computer desk five minutes into the episode, press a few keys, look at the screen and say "Ah, so the murderer was the doctor's stepson's girlfriend's dentist. All right, let's go home."
Bert

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]For that matter, I don't know that Apple's the only laptop out there that's in a flat, brushed metal case. If you don't see the Apple logo, it actually might not be an Apple computer.[/nq]
I'm talking about the ones that are recognizable as Apples... there are plenty of other clues.
[nq:2]Another distraction like 555 phone numbers and anonymous Nikons.[/nq]
[nq:1]As I've told many a director over the years - if they're paying that close attention to the set dressing, there's something desperately wrong with the rest of the show.[/nq]
It is so easy to avoid the 555 altogether I don't know why they don't do it. I mean, written on the door of a taxi? Sticks out like a sore thumb.Don't need any phone number to be authentic.

"If you can, tell me something happy."
- Marybones

And now, the anonymous Apples

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