Product placement has become a huge business with U.S. revenues expected to hit $5.5 billion in 2010. This data, which includes Hollywood films, has attracted the attention of several companies and filmmakers in the adult entertainment world.
If it works for Hollywood blockbusters, could the adult industry expect similar results? The Screaming O, a very successful adult novelty company, has partnered with DreamZone Entertainment, an adult production company, to test this “adult” product placement theory.
The result is an adult, parody film titled Sex And The City – In Search of the Screaming O, which has a story line wrapped around the Screaming O product. Over 90% of the movie is devoted to promoting the product through dialogue, placement and actual use of the Screaming O. It is a product demonstration and positive testimonial cleverly disguised as an adult film. A major part of DreamZone’s product placement and marketing plan included building a website titled InSearchOfTheScreamingO.com.
Conveniently, Sex And The City already provided the mature theme, which made it easy for DreamZone Entertainment to adapt the concept to the adult industry. The “sexual reigns” are given to the four women, which results in a journey of self discovery and the realization that “they” can be the master’s of their own sexual destiny.
HBO’s hit series promoted the sexual empowerment of women and sexual wellness in general, which is a message that is exploited throughout In Search Of The Screaming O’s storyline. The four best friends, Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha now venture together to develop a toy that will alleviate their lack of satisfaction in bed. To perfect the product, the girls conduct their “research” through vigorous testing and then they test it again and again. The result is a sublime adult toy affectionately name “The Screaming O”.
“The Screaming O Vibrating Ring has always been a popular product for regular women to expand and explore their sexual horizons, and there’s no better premise than ‘Sex and the City: In Search of the Screaming O’ to feature that,” The Screaming O partner Keith Caggiano said. “The film showcases the evolution of women’s sexuality and the quest for ultimate satisfaction with some of the hottest sex our Vibrating Ring has ever seen – it’s a perfect fit, pun intended!”
The Screaming O, in real life, has been recognized for it’s supremacy with awards such as “Best Of 2008” at Women’s Health Second Annual Sex Awards and has made an appearance on The Real Housewives of Orange County. Tying a product like this to a show and parody whose theme focuses on the satisfaction of women illustrates how much mainstream media and audiences have in common with the adult entertainment industry. Surely the “real” Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha would not shy away from a chance to test out a rather modest adult toy. The adult parody gives the audience a chance to expand the boundaries that were already extended by the real Sex And The City series.
David Gross from Dream Zone Entertainment stated, “I am thrilled to have Screaming O attached to this film, they are a fantastic and well respected company in the industry. Since every DVD will come packaged with a Screaming O product it will allow the viewers to follow along with the movie in ways never seen before… now that’s product placement”.
Sex And The City – In Search of the Screaming O is out now. If its clever product placement is a success we could be seeing more adult companies adopting this marketing tactic from mainstream media.