New Product-Placement Technology Makes Joneses Even Harder to Watch

In an era when money is harder than ever to come by, Hollywood privately knows exactly what will save it. No, not 3-D. Not flop insurance either. I'm talking about product placement, that unabating scourge turning your favorite movies and TV shows into the equivalents of extended commercial breaks. Few films embrace this reality as warmly as The Joneses, whose poster revealed an ugly truth made only uglier by new technology allowing you to literally buy the items onscreen while you watch. Welcome to hell!

And thank ReelzChannel, apparently, which has partnered with developer Media/And and Joneses producers to align the new SmartBar™ to the Demi Moore/David Duchovny satire. Now, in one place, you can watch a film and view the featured brands in a real-time sidebar. Love Duchovny's LaCoste sweater? Click the link. Dig his Lexus SUV? Find a dealer near you. And even if you're just watching a boring old frame with a boring old actor doing boring old actor-y things, you can visit his/her IMDB profile to find the good stuff.

It'll do wonders for your attention span, believe me. If only one could scroll through to the end of the film to see what kind of bereavement discount you might be able to score on -- spoiler alert! -- that gorgeous, high-end lawn mower Gary Cole uses to kill himself.

· A New Way to Keep Up with The Joneses [ReelzChannel]



Comments

  • CiscoMan says:

    From the article: "We originally decided to test this out with the trailer. But we found that people were playing around with the technology, hitting pause, and not watching the trailer. Not what we wanted!"
    What we want is for people to not watch the ENTIRE movie.
    Oh, by the way, I'm listening to "Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson, from the album In Between Dreams. 2.8 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac, Mozilla Firefox 3.6.3

  • Right? Like, why is this guy making movies?
    And why are you listening to Jack Johnson?

  • The Winchester says:

    I want that technology when Expendables comes out. That way I can buy weaponry and good looking plastic surgery at the same time.

  • stolidog says:

    So, I can just click and buy David Duchovny? Anyone up for a timeshare?

  • Martini Shark says:

    Pass Stoli. Considering all the actiion he gets with the sex addiction the only time window would be 4 days in late January or the weekend after Labor Day.

  • Martini Shark says:

    The next step will be real-time eBay prop auctions on which you can bid from your seat with a Blackberry or iPhone app. "30 minutes before the end credits, and 22:47 left on Demi's Ferragamo pumps from the party scene, high-bid a $435.56."

  • CiscoMan says:

    I'm from Northern California, what do you want?

  • The Dude says:

    I kind of like the technology. Allows me to find the stuff easier. I would like an opt-out though.

  • So am I! (Originally.) Turn on Pavement or American Music Club or something!