Product Placement: The Brands Behind Your Favourite Films

165 brands signed on to Sony's promotional partner campaign for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Only 5 made it into the film as product placement. The campaign is pegged at $309 million in worldwide media value, the largest any Hollywood film has ever posted. The brands in your favourite films are there because a corporation paid millions to put them there.

Global product placement spending hit roughly $33 billion in 2024. Products a character actually uses and mentions pull about 81 percent brand recall. A standard TV commercial only gets roughly 32 percent. Product placement is not a marketing afterthought. It is a $33 billion industry that outperforms traditional advertising on brand recall by 2.5 times.

We traced the brands behind your favourite films back to their corporate parents. The brands on screen are owned by corporations spanning the globe. For more on how brands appear in streaming content, see our brands featured in Netflix shows and who owns them.

The $33 Billion Product Placement Industry

Product placement is a $33 billion global industry. The reason is simple. When a character actually uses a product on screen, brand recall hits 81 percent. A standard TV commercial only achieves 32 percent recall. The difference is 2.5 times.

The brands in your favourite films are not accidents. They are the result of deals struck during production, long before anyone knows whether the movie will open to $360 million or die in a week. The corporations paying for placement are betting millions on films that do not yet exist.

The industry has two deal types. In-film integration commits a brand during production. Logo licensing lets a brand use the film's marketing assets for retail campaigns without appearing in the movie itself. The two deals have different timelines, different cost structures, and different goals.

Case: Spider-Man Brand New Day ($309M Campaign)

Sony's promotional partner campaign for Spider-Man: Brand New Day spans 165 brands and is pegged at $309 million in worldwide media value. That figure is an all-time record for any Hollywood film, outstripping Sony's previous $288 million record set by Spider-Man: Far From Home in 2019.

Of the 165 brands in the campaign, four made cameos in the film as product placement. Spider-Man eats Little Caesars pizza, uses a Samsung phone and ASUS computers, walks around a city where there are myriad BMWs driving around, and walks into a bodega selling Liquid I.V. drink mix.

The other 160 brands bought logo licensing for retail campaigns. They get to use Spider-Man imagery on packaging, in stores, and in advertising. They do not appear in the film. The $309 million figure counts promotional media value and excludes any money from licensing or merchandise, since Disney controls those rights for Spider-Man.

165 brands signed on. 5 made it into the film. The rest bought retail campaigns.

In-Film Integration vs Logo Licensing

Product placement commits a brand during production, long before anyone knows whether the movie opens to $360 million or dies in a week. The two deal types serve completely different goals.

A brand with a multi-year budget and a long-term association goal should pursue in-film integration, the way that BMW and Samsung did. A brand chasing a short sales spike during a release should take the licensing route McDonald's and Takis took.

Disney holds Spider-Man's merchandise and licensing rights, so the retail side of this campaign runs on a separate ledger from Sony's. The film studio controls what appears on screen. The merchandise rights holder controls what appears on store shelves.

Source: Deadline, DesignRush, ContentGrip, BMW Group Press. All brand ownership data verified through WhoBrands.com research methodology.

BMW's Plot-Level Integration

BMW went furthest of any partner. Both the iX3 and the 5 Series Sedan were written into the film's plot around Tom Holland's Peter Parker. The iX3 is the first model in BMW's Neue Klasse line, so the placement doubles as a launch stage for the company's newest platform.

Bernd Korber, Senior Vice President BMW Brand and Product Management, said: "The launch of the Neue Klasse and Spider-Man: Brand New Day could not be more fitting. Both stand for a bold new beginning and the confidence to shape what comes next."

BMW produced a unique one-off vehicle to celebrate the new Spider-Man movie. Using dynamic graphics and full-color E Ink Prism elements, it brings the title character to life. The integration includes a teaser film called "The Big Screen" where Spider-Man lands on the hood of a BMW iX3. BMW also unlocked a Spider-Man startup animation on the Control Display for compatible cars in more than 70 markets.

BMW is owned by BMW Group, the German automotive manufacturer. The integration is not a one-off stunt. It is a multi-year brand association strategy.

Samsung's Ambassador Strategy

Jacob Batalon, who plays Spider-Man's sidekick Ned Leeds, has traded his role for a permanent seat on Samsung's roster. Samsung premiered the next chapter of its Sony Pictures partnership ahead of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Samsung pushed its Galaxy Z foldable series and Galaxy Watches in conjunction with the film. Batalon's Ned uses an in-story device called the Spidey Tracker, which Samsung then turned into a real campaign asset. Batalon fronts a cinematic TV spot for the brand, with the extended campaign spanning digital, social, out-of-home, and live fan activations.

Batalon said: "Getting to use the Fold7 and Galaxy Watch on set was a cool experience, and I'm excited to officially join Team Galaxy."

Samsung is owned by Samsung Electronics, the South Korean technology giant. The strategy combines in-film placement, ambassador signing, and Unpacked event timing into a single integrated campaign.

Little Caesars and the Collector's Item Phenomenon

Little Caesars created an all-new Webberoni Pizza for the Spider-Man tie-in, served in a Spider-Man inspired pizza box. Even used boxes became collector items going for $100 on eBay. Little Caesars celebrated Peter Parker's New York roots by re-creating his apartment from the film, which clocked a massive 20,000 RSVPs.

Little Caesars is the U.S. fast-food partner, while McDonald's has international. Together, Little Caesars and McDonald's account for the largest share of the total campaign value, followed by Samsung and BMW.

Little Caesars is owned by Ilitch Holdings, a private holding company. McDonald's is owned by McDonald's Corporation (public, NYSE: MCD). Two different corporate structures. Two different geographic markets. One film campaign.

The Gaming Crossover: Fortnite and PUBG Mobile

The Spider-Man campaign extends beyond traditional media into gaming. Fortnite brings Spider-Man back with an outfit and in-game moments, including a never-before-seen clip introduced by Tom Holland. PUBG Mobile runs an integration with in-game props and a livestream tournament, plus premium billboards including Times Square and placements across multiple territories.

Gaming integrations are not add-ons. They are parallel premieres. Letting fans watch clips in-game reframes marketing as access. Fortnite is owned by Epic Games, in which Tencent holds a 28 percent stake. PUBG Mobile is owned by Krafton, with Tencent publishing rights in certain markets.

For more on video game brand ownership, see our video game brands and their corporate parents.

The Parent Company Map

The brands on screen in Spider-Man: Brand New Day are owned by corporations spanning the globe.

BMW is owned by BMW Group (Germany). Samsung is owned by Samsung Electronics (South Korea). Little Caesars is owned by Ilitch Holdings (USA, private). McDonald's is owned by McDonald's Corporation (USA, public). ASUS is owned by ASUSTeK Computer (Taiwan). Liquid I.V. is owned by Unilever (UK/Netherlands). Takis is owned by Barcel, a division of Grupo Bimbo (Mexico). Poppi is owned by PepsiCo (USA). Dr Pepper is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper (USA).

The brands you see on screen are owned by corporations spanning Germany, South Korea, the USA, Mexico, Taiwan, the UK, and the Netherlands. The film is American. The brand ownership is global.

The Three Lessons for Brand Partners

Three lessons emerge from the Spider-Man campaign for any brand considering film partnerships.

Lock integration early. Production-stage deals ask for commitment years before anyone can forecast the return. BMW and Samsung committed during production. The brands that waited were left with logo licensing.

Price licensing against the window. A logo deal earns only while the property is in market. Once the film leaves theaters and the retail campaign ends, the brand association fades. In-film integration stays in the movie forever. BMW's vehicles stay in Brand New Day every time it streams, airs on television, or gets referenced in a future Marvel film.

Match the deal type to the goal before signing. The results you are chasing need different contracts, different lead times, and different internal owners. Entertainment marketing rewards both short-term and long-term deals, as long as the brand knew which one it was paying for.

FAQ

How much do brands pay for product placement in films? Global product placement spending hit roughly $33 billion in 2024. Sony's Spider-Man: Brand New Day campaign reached $309 million in worldwide media value across 165 brand partners. Individual deal values vary widely based on integration type, with in-film plot integration costing significantly more than retail logo licensing.

What is the difference between in-film integration and logo licensing? In-film integration commits a brand during production, placing the product physically in the movie. Logo licensing lets a brand use the film's marketing assets for retail campaigns without appearing in the film. In-film integration stays in the movie permanently. Logo licensing earns only while the property is in market.

Which brands appeared in Spider-Man: Brand New Day? Five brands made cameos in the film: Little Caesars pizza, Samsung phone, ASUS computers, BMW vehicles, and Liquid I.V. drink mix. The other 160 brand partners bought logo licensing for retail campaigns. BMW and Samsung pursued in-film integration. McDonald's and Takis took the licensing route.

Who owns the brands in your favourite films? BMW is owned by BMW Group (Germany). Samsung is owned by Samsung Electronics (South Korea). Little Caesars is owned by Ilitch Holdings (USA). Liquid I.V. is owned by Unilever (UK/Netherlands). Takis is owned by Barcel, a division of Grupo Bimbo (Mexico). Poppi is owned by PepsiCo (USA). The brands on screen are owned by corporations spanning the globe.

Explore Related Brands

• BMW -- BMW Group automotive brand, plot-level integration in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
• Poppi -- PepsiCo prebiotic soda brand, retail licensing partner for Spider-Man
• Fortnite -- Epic Games brand, gaming crossover with Spider-Man
• Snickers -- Mars brand, frequent film product placement partner
• Oreo -- Mondelez brand, major film licensing partner
• Coca-Cola -- Coca-Cola Company brand, decades of film product placement

Browse all media and entertainment brands

Also read: Brands Featured in Netflix Shows and Who Owns Them -- how Netflix integrates brands into its streaming content.

Sources

1. Deadline: Spider-Man: Brand New Day $309M Promo Campaign Is a Hollywood Record -- https://deadline.com/2026/07/spider-man-brand-new-day-marketing-campaign-record-bmw-1237013669/ 2. BMW Group Press: BMW brings modern mobility to Spider-Man: Brand New Day -- https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0459622EN/ 3. DesignRush: 165 Brands Backed Spider-Man, Only 5 Made It Into the Movie -- https://news.designrush.com/spider-man-brand-new-day-309-million-marketing 4. ContentGrip: Spider-Man: Brand New Day's $309M brand campaign decoded -- https://www.contentgrip.com/spiderman-brand-partners/ 5. DesignRush: Jacob Batalon Suits Up for Samsung Galaxy in Spider-Man Film -- https://news.designrush.com/netflix-the-hawk-genesis-mikes-hard-lemonade-will-ferrell 6. Cosmic Book News: Spider-Man: Brand New Day Tops Avengers: Endgame With Biggest Social Media Reach -- https://cosmicbook.news/spider-man-brand-new-day-bigger-than-endgame

All brand ownership data verified through WhoBrands.com research methodology. Last updated: August 2026.

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