DOI: 10.24308/iass-2014-080

Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

pablomoreno@gmail.com

Abstract

The American cinema is characterized by its industrial character and a broad productive chain as their logic. Advertising is part of this chain and is increasingly rare, but improbable, an American movie without product and brands integrated in narratives. These actions represent major investments and is usual the consumers to have a better reaction to advertising when they are integrated into entertainment as branded content.

Brazilian cinema passes, since the mid-90s, for a period of recovery and growth, arriving in 2000’s with a significant presence in the national culture. Year after year, Brazilian films stand out among the most watched in the country. That has contributed to starts the organization of cinema as industry, as in the case of movies made by Globo Filmes, for example.

With a Brazilian film industry in formation, has been increasingly frequent integration of products, brands and advertising in the content of national films. An example is “Minha mãe é uma peça”, most watched domestic film in Brazil in 2013. The movie had audience of 4.6 million viewers, according to the National Film Agency (Ancine).

This study aims to analyze the product integrations (Donaton, 2007) that stand out in “Minha mãe é uma peça”, using as analytical instrument the Peirce’s semiotics. It is intended to verify the contribution of this strategy in expressivity of brand (Perez, 2004), in the construction of symbolic values to consumers.

“Minha mãe é uma peça” is sponsored by the brands Eletrobras, Procter & Gamble and Grupo Protege. In the category of support are brands BB DTVM, TAESA, Multishow, Quanta Estúdios, Teleimage and FINEP. Of all the brands sponsoring/supporters of the film, the one that stands out is Procter & Gamble, through three prod­ucts of its portfolio: liquid soap for washing clothes Ariel, Pantene shampoo and fabric softener Downy. Prod­ucts are inserted into the narrative in four times: their names are mentioned by characters and its brands are displayed for a long period of time in the foreground.

Front of the more recurrence, it cuts as empirical object of analysis the insertions of Procter & Gamble products. The research analyzes with the semiotics of brand, the signs built for products under the aspect of the sign itself, the sign in relation to the object and the sign in relation to the interpretant (Santaella, 2002) in the entertainment narrative. The intention is to check the values constructed and then compare them to the brand positioning, checking whether the inserts are made consistent with the expressivity of the brand. In addition, we intend to further check how the message is presented as entertainment and the kind of thinking that calls the viewer, yet according to Peirce: abduction, deduction or induction.

1. Introduction

Brazilian cinema passes, since the mid 90's by a period of recovery and growth, coming in 2000 with significant representation in the halls. With a Brazilian film industry in formation has been increasingly frequent integration of products, brands and advertising on the content of national films. An example is Minha mãe é uma peça, most watched domestic film in Brazil in 2013. The movie had audience of 4.6 million viewers, according to the National Cinema Agency (Ancine).

This paper proposes to analyze the branded content (Donaton 2007) that stand out in Minha Mae é uma peça, using as an analytical tool the Peirce's semiotics. The aim is to verify the contribution of this strategy to the brand expression (Perez 2004), in the construction of symbolic values to consumers.

Of all the sponsoring/supporters brands of the film, the one that stands out is Procter & Gamble, through three of its portfolio products: liquid soap to wash clothes Ariel, Pantene shampoo and Downy softener. The research analyzes the signs constructed for the products under the aspect of the sign itself, the sign in relation to the object and the sign in relation to the interpretant (Santaella 2002) in the entertainment narrative. The intention is to check the values built and then compare them to the institutional positioning, checking if the inserts made are consistent with the brand expression.

2. Entertainment as brand expression place

In contemporary times, forms of consumption are characterized by speed. “Advertising is something inherent to societies operating in economic models of intensive production. (...) In this context, is the result of the same processes that were structured by markets over the centuries, and today is an essential step in the composition of the production model of modern organizations.” (Santos 2005: 24). Thus, the volume of products and brands on offer nowadays grew, requiring ship production faster.

Changing the way we consume, so do the arguments of the advertising message. They sophisticate up and no longer are mere instruments interrupting the experience of the subjects with the mass media. It starts to dispute the viewer's attention, approaching more and more of an entertainment speech.

In this new perspective, advertising inserts your message within entertainment communication products, aimed to increase public attention to what is broadcasted. “More and more advertising messages take turns to become unknown to the recipient the reason of what is advertised. He recognizes that this is advertising, but not being influenced” (Luhmann 2005: 84). This form of advertising, combining line items with entertainment content is known as Madison and Vine, Advertainment, Branded Content, Product Placement and other names.

Donaton (2007) gives an overview of technological revolutions and changes in consumption habits of American society that led the subject to a new logic, in which the viewer gains hegemony as a decisive element in media consumption process and that demand new contact forms between advertising and the consumer. On this, Netto, states “the product supply function of traditional advertising the exchange of fun for positive image towards the brand, we have a major change in the communicative bias established in the individual's relationship with advertising” (Netto 2008: 7).

Advertising expands its operations beyond the placeholders for magazine ads, the commercial breaks and finds new spaces to be consumed at any time, for how long and how often the viewer sees fit, called by Madison and Vine.

This paper focuses specifically on the Product Placements in movies, very popular in the United States, as they are one of the few countries in the world that has an established the cinema as industry. The author explains “product placement in movies is a common practice since the early days of cinema, but partnerships between fiction and film products have become today significantly deeper. To advertisers is given a voice in the development of the script long before filming began.” (Donaton 2007: 32).

Product Placement is something done masterfully in American cinema. The United States has the peculiarity of having transformed his cinema in industry a bit after the movie consolidation, which makes the American films a commercial and profitable product. “The product placement in movies is a common practice since the early days of cinema, but partnerships between fiction and film products have become today significantly deeper. To advertisers is given a voice in the development of the script well before the start of filming.” (Donaton 2007: p. 33)

The Product Placement in movies becomes more sophisticated over time. This aroused the curiosity of researchers, which were held on the topic to investigate them and rank them. It should be noted that the format we want to investigate in this study corresponds to the integration of products in films in the sense that advertising is, in fact, inserted into the narrative, and not about the commercials shown in movie theaters before the movies.

2.1. And in Brazilian cinema?

Throughout history, Brazilian cinema had a tuned production to the most important times of world cinema. The national cinema has undergone a regional and experimental phase with Humberto Mauro, in the early twentieth century; underwent industrialization attempts, between the years 1930 and 1950; threw open the social problems in the search for their own identity with the Cinema Novo, faced censorship of the military dictatorship and the lack of resources to Cinema Marginal and Pornochanchadas, but its death was almost enacted in 1980 with the ill-fated economic plans of the time, among other factors.

The 1990s signaled a rebirth in the period named of Retomada, just by the return of investment policies in film, encouraging the audiovisual and were productive years for the national cinema. A film industry, appropriate to the proportion of Brazilian cinema, began to take shape and, particularly, the public began to take an interest in films, winning prejudices consolidated on the productions made in the country.

Every passing year, more and more Brazilian films became box office hits and were pursued by the public. The interest of the audience attracts advertisers, investing in movies and want to insert their brands in the stories. This gave rise, too, product integration in national films as follows examines whether.

2.2. Minha Mãe é uma peça (2013)

Minha Mãe é uma peça was the most watched national movie in Brazilian theaters in 2013. According to an Ancine report, 4,600,145 viewers watched the film. It is a comedy adaptation of a play and it has a significant number of sponsorship and support, which are shown in the opening credits. Among the sponsors appear Eletrobras, Procter & Gamble and Grupo Protege. In the category of support come the BB DTVM (Bank of Brazil Division administers securities and securities), TAESA (Privately Held the power transmission segment), Multishow TV channel, Quanta studio, the producer Teleimage and Finep.

3. Brand Expression and Procter & Gamble

The information available on the brand's positioning in the P&G site or brand own website provided the basis for the analysis performed for these Product Placement in Minha Mãe é uma peça. The organization uses a management strategy of its corporate products uses individual brands. According to Perez, this strategy has the advantage of “flexibility and less rigid in choosing the name that best suits the characteristics, attributes, the public receiver, the context, the time and/or the positioning of the product. (...) Enables greater footprint in the points of sale. Greather optimization of market segmentation provides a sense of innovation and modernity to the consumer.” (Perez 2004: 20–21).

This strategy is used by Procter & Gamble in their products. Each product has an individual brand, an independent communication strategy and the leading brand in some cases, comes to be known by the consumer. The Procter & Gamble products integrate an extensive portfolio of personal care products. According to the organization's website, its purpose is to “offer products and superior services that improve the lives of consumers around the world, now and for future generations. As a result, consumers will reward us with market leadership, profits and value creation, allowing our people, our shareholders and the communities where we live and work to prosper. “ (Procter & Gamble 2014)

The organization's values are “Integrity, Leadership, Property, Passion to Win, Trust” (Procter & Gamble, 2014). The principles set out on the website are: “We show respect for all individuals; The company's interests and the individual are inseparable; We have strategic focus on our work; Our success is based on innovation; We value personal responsibility; We aim to be the best; We have external focus; The mutual interdependence is a lifestyle”. (Procter & Gamble 2014)

On the official P&G website you can get information about the products or be redirected to the official brands websites (when available). In case of brands inserted into Minha Mãe é uma peça, only Downy does not have an official website.

In Ariel presentation text, at the official P&G website, said: “In the late 60s, Ariel was released worldwide. It was a time when people believed they could make a huge difference in the world, a time of challenges and idealism, vision translated into action. For Ariel, it was imagination, determination and technological empowerment freeing women from their traditional domestic role”. (Procter & Gamble 2014)

On the official site of Ariel products, there is no further information on the brand positioning (Mission, Vision and Values). There is only description of the products, an advertising video of the current campaign, usage tips, products and an area reserved for contact.

About Pantene, the presentation text on the official P&G website states:

For over 60 years, Pantene has offered consumers unsurpassed quality in high-tech products have reflected a serious and effective approach to providing healthy and beautiful hair. (...) Today in Brazil Pantene has 8 different product lines with Shampoo and Conditioner, plus a full line of treatments that offers protection and restoration to the threads. Its unique formula of pro-vitamin acts as a true protective shield against damage while repairing wires deeply through advanced technology that operates where the wire needs most, keeping the beautiful and healthy hair. (Procter & Gamble 2014)

The official website as well as in the case of products Ariel has no further information on the brand positioning, as Mission, Vision and Values. But it is more complete and offers specialized consulting services on hair, presents products, hairstyles, and talks about the Pantene Institute and tells the story of the brand from its origin to its arrival in Brazil. We highlight the section that displays the model Gisele Bundchen as the brand ambassador in 2007. Since then, the Brazilian model shall illustrate all images in the timeline of the brand.

The brand more TOP of Brazil TOP joins biggest TOP of the world: In 2007, for the re-launch of Pantene in Brazil with new formulas and packaging, branding hires über model Gisele Bundchen as the official ambassador. Since then, the successful partnership is becoming more solid and Pantene is synonymous with superior performance and Allied Gisele for health care of the most beautiful and inspiring locks the country. (Procter & Gamble 2014)

The three brands present in Minha Mãe é uma peça, Downy is the one that does not have its own website. The only information available about the brand are in P&G's own website.

Downy believes that emotions come to life at the touch of tissues.

Are simple moments, like when you wear a good clean and fragrant clothes and feel beautiful, ready to face the day.

Or, when you come back, and engages in the freshness of your sheets for a night's sleep.

It is then that Downy makes all the difference. Because when you use Downy in their tissues, they become more than tissues, they become more meaningful experiences. With the scent of Downy, you revive your emotions. (Procter & Gamble 2014)

As we can see, each brand is presented specifically for the public and aims to be recognized in accordance with the consumption profile of those who purchase the product. The way each of these brands communicates with your audience is what Perez defines as brand expression. The author states that:

The brands are expressed, are given to do, show themselves in different ways, in order to enhance their sense effects. (...) The goal is to establish a connection – and if this is emotional, the better. (...) The marks are expressed through the name they present, logo, shape and design of the products that embody, packaging and label, color, slogan, jingle, the personality, the character that represents a mascot, and other resources and the organizational context, involving employees and partners and their relations with the social environment. (Perez 2004: 47)

So, in any situation the brand is in contact with customers (and potential customers), it is building sense, a perception. Perez continues, “the perceptual space of the brand can be used as a mirror that reflects the lifestyle and values of current or potential consumption” (Perez, 2004, p. 48). The corporate identity, advertising, sales promotion, sponsorship, internal communication, among others, are moments of brand expression. This is one of the justifications for brands to sponsor movies, performing their products inserts, in an entertainment context, establishing contact with the consumer in the context of diverse communication to advertising.

4. Analysis: Product Placement descriptions

The insertion of brand Ariel lasts approximately 20 seconds. The product name is not mentioned and the scene takes place in a supermarket, on an island made by packages of Ariel liquid soap. Marcelina, the daughter of the protagonist, Mrs. Herminia, follows the mother in grocery shopping and coming up in products, dropping some packages. Almost at the same moment that the young drops the products, a supermarket employee appears to reorganize the island. The foreground framework allows the reading of the Ariel brand and also the phrase: Remove 3 times more stains without fade as washing powder. The two characters appear in the background and in third plane appear other products displayed on the shelves, but you cant identify them. The product is not even mentioned in the dialogue and the mother apologizes to the employee who collects the fallen products at the same time that the daughter swears by his carelessness.

The insertion of Pantene begins immediately after the products Ariel, also at the supermarket. Starts at 15 minutes and 13 seconds and goes up to 15 minutes and 27 seconds. Mrs. Herminia and Marcelina walk through the supermarket, when the daughter stops on a shelf with Pantene products and a promotional piece of Point of Sale illustrated with the model (and brand ambassador) Gisele Bundchen. Marcelina, who is her mother's side, stops on the shelf, take a pack of Pantene shampoo and exclaims: “Oh, mother, I want to buy this shampoo!”. Mrs. Herminia says, “You will not buy any shampoo. Returns!”. Marcelina replies: “Oh, but I want to be just like Gisele Bündchen...”, being interpellated by Mrs. Herminia, “Marcelina, my daughter, you have other priorities, come here ... (and return the shampoo to the shelf). I will not buy anything. “The girl complains to her mother and insists, when Mrs. Herminia decrees: “Marcelina you can’t just have hair of Gisele Bundchen and that body. You need is diet, I will make you a soup, yes!”. And the two leave the scene.

To 1 hour, 12 minutes and 10 seconds film is an insert with Ariel and Downy brands. The hard insert up to 1 hour, 12 minutes and 32 seconds is a simulation of Product Placement common in talk shows on Brazilian TV. In the history, Mrs. Herminia became host of a TV show and is commenting on daily life with their children. The insertion begins with Mrs. Herminia looking at the camera and talking about how to eliminate the dirt on clothes, drawing a parallel between hitting the children in order to educate them and hit the dirt to eliminate it. To remove dirt, recommends Ariel and Downy. The products are brought by a stagehand, described by Mrs. Herminia – during insertion – as the rabble of the TV Show.

4.1. Peirce Semiotics and Semiotics of Brand

Semiotics can be applied to analyze diverse manifestations, such as advertising, for example. Over the large Peirce production about Semiotics, this work is dedicated to the speculative grammar (Santaella 2002), from the categories of the sign ordered by Peirce to understand the Madison & Vine. From the theory of signs and semiosis process that begin on the relation between sign, object and interpretant, was conceived the brand expression semiotics.

In this model, the object resides in “Marketing Mix, the product in its concreteness and aspects of distribution, price, design, among others” (Perez 2004: 152). However, the object should not be considered simply something material, but can also be simply a logical position in the triad, a dynamic object. Thus, the author goes on to explain that the object is not limited to the product, “takes into account the complexity of the organization, its mission, vision and values its relations with society and its leaders, expanding the immediate referentiality reduced to a tangible product” (Perez 2004: 152).

The sign is understood as the “elements that give expressiveness and visibility to the brand” (Perez 2004: 153), which Lancaster quoted by Perez (2004) defines as Identity Mix.

The interpretant will match the effects generated by the sign in the of production of meaning process. These effects, according to Perez, can be emotional/affective (of firstness), energetic when they represent functionality (of secondness) and logical (of thirdness) when correspond to habits.

Based on this model, starts, so the sign of the manifestation in himself, ie the Identity Mix. The brand comes as a sponsor of the film and invites writers to conceive situations in which the products were inserted into the narrative, with expressive capability. According to Perez, “this first level of analysis, the sign is pure qualitative possibility. It is observed in their domestic property, that is, in their qualitative aspects, sensory (...) etc.”. (Perez 2004: 155)

Peirce classifies this first division of the sign into three divisions: qualisign, sinsign or legisign. “A Qualisign is a quality which is a Sign” (Peirce 2010: CP-2.244); “A sinsign is an actual existent thing or event which is a sign a thing or existing and actual event that is a sign” (Peirce 2010: CP-2.245); “A Legisign is a law that is a Sign. This law is usually established by men. [...]Every legisign signifies through an instance of its application, which may be termed a Replica of it. [...] The Replica is a Sinsign. Thus, every Legisign requires Sinsigns”. (Peirce 2010: CP-2.246). The three divisions will be useful for understanding the signs represented.

Continuing the interpretation, there is “messages toward the object they are representing” (Perez 2004: 156). In this second classification, Peirce, classifying the signs as icon, index and symbol, proposes another division.

“An Icon is a sign which refers to the Object that it denotes merely by virtue of characters of its own, and which it possesses, just the same, whether any such Object actually exists or not” (Peirce 2010: CP-2.247), while an index “is a sign which refers to the Object that it denotes by virtue of being really affected by that Object.” (Peirce 2010: CP-2.248). Since the symbol “is a sign which refers to the Object that it denotes by virtue of a law, usually an association of general ideas, which operates to cause the Symbol to be interpreted as referring to that Object” (Peirce 2010: CP-2.249).

In relation to the generated effects, analytic third level of meaning production process, it is understood, citing Perez, who refers to the types of interpretation that signs have the potential to awaken in its members, in the minds who play them (Perez 2004: 157).

For Peirce, in the third interpretative level, the signs are divided into Rheme, Dicisign and Argument (Peirce 2010: CP-2.250). Perez, names such signs from its effects, classifying them into emotional, for values translate as “beauty, status, glamor, social acceptance, power” (Perez, 2004: 157); rational/functional when they produce sense from an action or use; logical, when the interpretation is dependent on “a certain habit of consumption” (Perez 2004: 158).

4.2. Semiotic Analysis

With regard to the sign itself in all inserts, the locations at which actions take place are sinsign. In the first two inserts, the supermarket appears as private space for the insertion of products in the narrative without clash of context, since the mother cites a situation with her daughter, in the place where that happens is fundamental to the understanding of what is passes. The scenario becomes natural, even the display of other levels of brand expression, as advertising slogans, the poster girl (in the case of Pantene), and promotional pieces.

In the third insertion, the location is sinsign but also legisign. The TV Show is stopped to the host advertise sponsors is a recurrent situation in Brazilian television, so the inclusion in the film does not generate estrangement, however, is natural because of the recurrence in the national media. I.e., is sinsign because the particularity of the situation represented is recognized by the audience as a TV show, and legisign by the fact that the interruption is naturally understood by anyone who has the habit of watching television in Brazil.

Both the supermarket, as the television program scenario seems popular venues, with a supermarket frequented by a family of upper-middle class (like the family portrayed in the film). The insertion therefore contributes to a representation of the public consumer product potential. This leads to the sign of the analysis toward the object it represents.

In the first insertion, the two characters do not comment the product name. The product package is displayed as well as the phrase of the advertising campaign aired at the time of film production. The iconic representation of the product through the package without mentioning its attributes is reinforced by the indicial slogan that says the product characteristics with common soaps, leaving the viewer's perception of the message conveyed.

In the second insertion, the relationship is more direct. The daughter of the protagonist asks his mother to buy Pantene shampoo, inserting the brand and its attributes as a symbol. At the beginning of insertion, the proposed relationship of the sign with the object is indexical, since the girl mentions the reason why she wants to buy the product, while the model appear in the foreground. After the mother negative of the acquisition, the character itself makes the relation of benefit of the product with the poster girl, stating that if you use the shampoo will have the hair of Gisele. This relationship is indexical, but also symbolic, since it is not necessary to explain who is the brand ambassador. The model is a symbol of beauty and her hair is just one of its many attributes that are coveted by other women. This is possibly the reason that the play point-of-sale displays do not present a text or even make mention of the name of the model, known around the world.

The third insertion, is the most 'advertising' of all displayed in the film. Thus, all the talk is iconic, by playing a popular format of Brazilian television and is also indicial, while establishing direct referentiality with the object represented (and it’s fun rightfully so). The reproduction also uses symbols (the cliché of the inserts in talk shows on Brazilian TV) to produce laugh. The recognition of sign in relation to the object is therefore crucial. In the message, Mrs. Herminia mention the name of the products and their packaging displays, while speaking of the competitive advantages of each.

Regarding to the effects generated in the first insertion, although there is no mention or direct relationship of the product with the event recorded, the intended effect by the sign next to the interpreter is functional origin, since the foreground displayed message approaches an attribute of the product (the ability to remove stains three times faster than a traditional soap), one dicisign therefore.

In the second insertion, the effect is a Rheme, since the suggested value is related to the status. The girl wants to use the shampoo to have hair like Gisele Bundchen. Despite being notorious recognition of the beauty of the hair of the model, the desire for other women by the hair similar to it is not functional order. Desire provides a lot more by the glamor and status related to the mythical figure of the model. The status is reinforced by mother's speech, which deconstructs the desire of the shampoo girl claiming that the girl needs is diet, to be more appropriate to the beauty standard.

The third insertion, also calls for the production of meaning from dicisigns, appealing to the functional aspects with the consumer. The show's host makes brief mention of the name of the product and its competitive advantages, not to mention other issues and interpellating directly to the housewife who would be watching the program, talking about the benefits directly to her.

5. Conclusions

Analyzes finished, we present some considerations about the inserts from the values defended by Procter & Gamble in each moment of Minha Mãe é uma peça.

The main values of the organization, as mentioned, integrity, leadership, passion for winning and confidence are always present in the first insertion, although the product name is not mentioned in the sentence that exposes the product advantage (strengthening its quality), not to mention refers to the organization's mission with respect to improving the lives of consumers. The concern of replenishing in replacing products on the island so they fall signal as the brand values the care with their products from conception to the organization at point of sale.

In the second set, the brand P&G values also make themselves present, more than the girl in her mother. In fact, she states the desire to consume the Pantene product. The site of Pantene highlights the issue of hair care with regard to restoration, but the difference is not explored in the insert. However, to demonstrate the desire of the daughter by the hair brand ambassador, the insert goes against the passage of history text of the brand on the site that says “Pantene is synonymous with superior performance and ally of Gisele to take care of the health of most beautiful and inspiring tresses of the country” (Procter & Gamble 2014).

As a final balance, it is observed that the three inserts reaffirm what is proposed in Identity Mix products of P & G and, although the combination of Advertising and Entertainment in Brazilian cinema still taking its first steps towards professionalization. Product Placement, in case of the analyzed film, is still quite rudimentary, but his analysis contributes to the understanding of a present moment of Brazilian cinema and understanding of integration between advertising and entertainment in Cinema.

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