The birth of “product placement” in the context of the First World War: Hollywood and the period 1913-1920 as framework

Abstract

Both the First and the Second World War meant the beginning of most of the technologies, concepts and formats that have to do with contemporary communication, especially with regard to propaganda and commercial communication. This research proposes the period of World War I as the most significant framework in establishing the model and concept of the technique named “product placement”, as applied to film production and circumscribed, especially, to Hollywood movies. To do this, we determine a concept based on the different authors who have addressed the issue, we present various historical currents regarding its origin, and –finally- try to decide in what period begins to realize most of the defining features of the technique.