8380: Pushing Product Placement.

From USA TODAY…

Morgan Spurlock brings his ‘Greatest Story Ever Sold’ to Sundance

By Claudia Puig, USA TODAY

After the premiere of The Greatest Story Ever Sold at the Sundance Film Festival Saturday, many of the corporate sponsors featured in the film trooped up on stage to join director Morgan Spurlock, who wore a suit emblazoned with their brand names and logos.

The documentary is an exploration of product placement and is financed entirely by product placement.

Jumping off a point made by academic experts who said advertisers try to make consumers feel they can’t be happy without a certain product, Spurlock announced: “I’m 40% happier.”

The sponsors represented included Pom juice, Jet Blue, Ban deodorant, Mini Cooper, Hyatt hotels and the island of Aruba.

“We tried to get money from everybody,” said Spurlock. “We called 500-600 brands. Ultimately we ended up with 15 in the move.”

Some wouldn’t even entertain the idea of being in the movie.

“We tried to get BP to come and sponsor us,” Spurlock said. “Because if anybody needs a brand makeover, it’s BP.”

Spurlock said he got the idea two years ago when watching an episode of Heroes in which Hayden Panettiere’s character was given a car by her father and kept repeating the model, “Nissan Rogue” over and over.

He initially went to ad agencies and product-placement firms and lacking success, decided to approach the companies themselves.

“Ban was the first sponsor to sign on,” he said. “Then everybody else came on. That’s how much power Ban deodorant has.”

The film’s tag line is: “He’s not selling out. He’s buying in.”

Spurlock was concerned that the sponsor companies would demand creative say over how they were portrayed in the movie. But he retained full artistic control.

Even with that freedom, some of his ideas didn’t pass muster.

“I wanted to give away a car to someone who would actually name their kid Mini Cooper,” says Spurlock. “I thought it was a good idea.”

The film explores the ubiquity of advertising — including advertising banners outside small schools in Florida and on education stations shown in classrooms.

“Nothing is sacred anymore,” Spurlock said. “Everywhere we go we’re being marketed to.”

Since making the movie, Spurlock said he is hyper-aware of advertising.

“Now I see ads everywhere,” he said, adding to the premiere audience: “This film is going to ruin movies and TV for you forever.”

If flying on JetBlue, prepare to see Spurlock’s goateed face welcoming passengers on the airline’s TV screens. He will also be featured in ad campaigns for Hyatt hotels and on the cartons of Amy’s Pizza.

When someone in the audience asked if his query could be deemed “the greatest question ever asked”, Spurlock quipped: “For $20, we’ll put your name in the credits.”

Spurlock also has a documentary about Comic-Con coming out this spring and said he’s working on a new documentary with Jason Bateman and Will Arnett on male grooming.

But, for a film about corporate sponsorship and advertising, Spurlock did a bit of false advertising of his own. In a hilarious scene in which he uses a shampoo called “Mane and Tail” he is shown washing his hair, his son’s hair and his Shetland Pony’s mane. Though he refers to it as a pony, he admits it is actually a miniature horse.

His goal with this movie was to make a blockbuster documentary.

“There may even be a sequel,” he said afterward. “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold 2: The Search for More Money’.”