From the category archives:

FICTIONAL PRODUCTS

Süpar Tool and Corporado

June 9, 2011

There’s a new ad campaign on the way for two fictional lines of men’s clothing. Two brands, each lampooning a different flavor of lameness.
Süpar Tool ribs the melodramatic effete billionaire hipster vibe:

Upscale men’s magazines are packed full of ads depicting this jet-set twenty-something fashionista lifestyle that doesn’t actually exist. At least, not in [...]

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Total Popcorn Recall

May 27, 2011

Since this story about false memories implanted by high-imagery ads is in such heavy rotation right now, I thought I’d mock up the fictional product that was used in the reference study.
May it soar on the wings of Google Image Search until the end of time.  Or until the story dies down next week.

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The Vapors

May 26, 2011

It’s not uncommon for a forthcoming product to be announced only to slip quietly into the dark chasm of Development Hell before the release date. However, it’s the unreleased products heralded by hype and ad campaigns that have a special place in my heart.

The term vaporware was coined in 1982 by a Microsoft engineer [...]

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Bits ‘N’ Pieces

May 4, 2011

During Episode Five of AMC’s The Killing, a grieving Mitch Larsen ran her fingers over a row of Bits ‘N’ Pieces cereal, painfully recalling how much her late daughter loved the Lucky Charms knockoff.

It’s hard to miss the multi-layered subtext of the brand name Bits N’ Pieces. The story, much like the oft-compared Twin [...]

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Uplifting

April 15, 2011

Creative packaging design for Fizzy Lifting Drinks, the experimental anti-gravity beverage from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory:

If you’ll remember, the prototype for this drink was sampled (read: STOLEN) by Charlie Bucket and Grandpa Joe, nearly leading to a horrible, tragic, and gruesome death. Their painful dismemberment by industrial fan blade would’ve been the [...]

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More Bullet Per Bullet

April 5, 2011

The consumer version of Aperture Science’s popular product, The Turret, comes with a phenomenal feature set which includes an Empathy Generator (disabled by proximity to The Turret), and the ability to fire a whole bullet. That’s 65 percent more bullet per bullet!
Well done, Valve. However, it’d be nice if this viral campaign for [...]

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Nilbog Milk

January 30, 2011

Special milk. High in vitamin content.

Most of what can be said about Troll 2 has already been said. To the virgin readers, I simply implore you to add this film to your Netflix queue immediately. It’s available on Instant!
In taking the screenshot, I noticed an easter egg on the label. Check [...]

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Unbranded in P-Town

January 20, 2011

It looks like the new IFC series, Portlandia, will be keeping Gladys at Product Displacement plenty busy.

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Imaginary Ad Men Wanted

December 1, 2010

The huge online multiplayer game City of Heroes is now about five years old, and its pixelated landscape has always been splashed at every turn with posters and billboards for fictional products.

As the game’s map expands ever further into cyberspace, the task of conceptualizing and designing these ads has become a full-time job. The [...]

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Smolder and Rapunzhair

December 1, 2010

Set to a sexy slide guitar riff resembling Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game, this ad for the imaginary men’s fragrance Smolder was aired during last week’s Saturday Night Live to promote Disney’s Tangled.

Also walking the edgy line  for a kids’ movie ad is another “product” showcased on SNL – Rapunzhair. Apparently a panacea, Rapunzhair (blondetine rejuvenous [...]

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Running with It

November 24, 2010

In an earlier post, I created some artwork for a replica bottle of Sunset Sarsaparilla, a branded power-up from the game Fallout: New Vegas. Well, a Norwegian reader named Knut Olav Alendal printed them out, affixed them to bottles, and was kind enough to snap a few photos against the stark backdrop of the inky black [...]

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