Lady Gaga and Beyonce have opened the door to leading brands on the video for their new collaborative single ‘Telephone’.
Hot on the heels of Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’ video, which was similar product placement fest, the new work features a number of leading brands playing prominent roles.
The ‘Telephone’ promo comes as a film more than nine-minutes long. It opens with Lady Gaga being escorted into prison and then stripped - putting any hermaphrodite rumours to rest.
After causing a ruckus in the courtyard she is then bailed by Beyonce as the pair take to the road in their customised ‘pussy wagon’ in a ‘Thelma and Louise’ style.
Eagle-eyed brand spotters will see the latest LG handset taking the leading role supported by the Virgin Mobile network.
Diet Coke cans also make an appearance substituting for Gaga hair rollers while the triangular Heartbeats earphones as designed by the singer pop up too.
Previously seen in ‘Bad Romance’, the HP Envy ‘Beats Limited Editon’ laptop from Monster is back but this time a website is also given exposure, namely the dating site PlentyOfFish.com.
Packaging from the ‘Double Breasted Drive Thru’ fast food restaurant also features. But we have been unable to confirm this as a real brand. It could, of course, simply be an inside joke, referring to the two female stars.
Old tech additionally gets a look in with a Polaroid instant camera, while a ‘Let’s make a sandwich’ scene filmed in a diner kitchen sees the US brands Wonder Bread and Miracle Whip featuring prominently.
With music industry sales under attack from illegal downloading more and more labels are looking at alternative revenue streams. Product placement in videos is just one but is fast growing in popularity.
On the flip side, the benefit for brands is celebrity association while being featured in a great piece of entertainment.
Lady Gaga and Beyonce are currently the two biggest female performers in the world.
Forbes named Beyonce the number one ‘Budding Mogul’ with annual earnings of $85 million. Meanwhile Lady Gaga recently cleared up at The Brits 2010 winning best female, best breakthrough act and best album for ‘The Fame’.
You can check out the video in full below. It’s office friendly, but over nine-minutes long. Perhaps one for lunchtime viewing, eh?
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