Brands in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
Posted on 30th April 2016
Concave Brand Tracking takes a close look at the Brands in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016).
Concave Brand Tracking attended a midnight screening of CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) upon its European release and recorded every Brand that appeared in the latest Marvel movie.
total visibility
Before we look at which Brands got the most visibility in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016), let’s see how much total visibility it offered Brands relatively to other movies.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) had 18% more Brand visibility than its 2014 predecessor CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER. It also had more than past Marvel movies such as IRON MAN (2008), THOR (2011), MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS (2012), IRON MAN 3 (2013) and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014). However, IRON MAN 2 (2010), AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2014) and ANT-MAN (2015) all had more total Brand visibility than CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016).
Beyond the Marvel Cinematic Universe, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) had similar amounts of total Brands visibility as SKYFALL (2012) and THE EQUALIZER (2014). It also had more total Brand visibility than TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN (2009) but far less than the likes of PIXELS (2015), ENTOURAGE (2015) or TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION (2014).
Finally, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) had 25% less Brand visibiity than this year’s BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE.
Now we take a look at the 5 most visible Brands in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016).
#5 Harley-Davidson
A long-standing partner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and particularly of the CAPTAIN AMERICA movies, we found Harley-Davidson to be the 5th most visible Brand in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016).
Harley-Davidson bikes were seen throughout the movie. They were driven by both Scarlett Johannsson as Black Widow and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes. The Brand had over 1 ½ minutes of screen time, though its logo was never clearly seen.
As has often been the case in Marvel movies, Harley-Davidson was portrayed as a fast and agile bike Brand often involved in chase and action sequences. It is worth pointing out that this is first time that Harley-Davidson appeared in a movie that featured Captain America (played by Chris Evan) but in which he is never seen riding one of their bikes.
This visibility makes for one of Harley Davidson’s strongest showing in a movie. The Brand received more visibility in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) than in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014), TERMINATOR: GENISYS (2015), MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS (2012) and FURIOUS 6 (2013) but less than in AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015) and INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (2008).
#4 MSNBC
The 4th most visible Brand was the TV channel MSNBC. Early on in the movie, MSNBC is used to show the international reaction to the opening action sequence. MSNBC is portrayed as an international news source.
While not as common as CNN, MSNBC is a regular channel to appear in movies and TV. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) was however, one of MSNBC’s most visible movie appearances.
#3 Mister Softee
In the last few Marvel movies featuring Iron Man, it has become a staple to see Robert Downey Jr. wearing a quirky or exotic t shirt. In MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS (2012) he wore a Black Sabbath t shirt and in AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015) he wore a DJ Bruce Lee t shirt. In CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016), a young Tony Stark wears a Mister Softee t shirt in a flashback. The t shirt gets about 1 ½ minutes of screen time, making Mister Softee the 3rd most visible Brand in the movie.
#2 Vivo
At #2 we find the Chinese phone manufacturer Vivo. A relative newcomer to entertainment marketing in general, Vivo makes its first Marvel appearance in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016). Vivo had over a minute of screen time in the movie with 27% of it being in the form of obvious or close-up shots. It was used by Chris Evans as Captain America simply to make phone calls. Robert Downey Jr. also had a fictional futuristic Vivo phone which he uses, among other things, to project video holograms. This portrays the Brand as futuristic and associates is with technology.
While Brands like Harley-Davidson and Audi appear somewhat consistently in Marvel movies, electronics Brands vary far more. Most recently, Samsung was the #1 most visible Brand in AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015) and 7th in ANT-MAN (2015) but was nowhere to be found in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016). Brands like Apple and LG have also appeared prominently in past Marvel movie, only to then disappear in subsequent ones. Fellow Chinese Brand TCL was the 6th most visible Brand in IRON MAN 3 (2013) but has not appeared in any other Marvel movies since. So it will be interesting to see whether Vivo’s appearance in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) is a one-off or whether this is the beginning of a long-term partnership.
The only other major movie in which Vivo has appeared was in THE MARTIAN (2015), in which it was the 17th most visible Brand. However, The Brand’s appearance in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) was over 5 times more visible in THE MARTIAN (2015).
#1 Audi
Audi has been part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since its inception with 2008’s IRON MAN.
While it has consistently appeared prominently in all 3 IRON MAN movies, Audi has had to fight off competition in the other parallel franchises. Acura, which started appearing in the THOR (2011), was the car Brand of choice in MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS (2012). When the CAPTAIN AMERICA franchise began taking place in the present day with CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014) it was Chevrolet that was not only the #1 car Brand but the top Brand overall.
However, in 2015, Audi took over as the main car Brand in the AVENGERS movies with AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015). Now, as the #1 Brand in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016), Audi has seemingly taken over the CAPTAIN AMERICA movies as well. It will be interesting to see whether Audi also makes it into 2017’s THOR: RAGNAROK as well as the various other Marvel movies scheduled for release over the next few years.
Audi had over 3 minutes of screen time in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016), with its cars appearing subtly in 56% and discreetly or in the background in 44%. The vehicles were mostly used by government officials and were involved a high-speed action-packed car chase. They were also driven by an array of characters.
Audi’s visibility in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) was higher than in any previous Marvel movies but lower than in THE INTERN (2015) and only a ¼ of what it had in THE TRANSPORTER REFUELED (2015).
other Brands
. While electronics Brands such as Apple and Samsung have come and gone, Dell has had a regular presence in Marvel movies going back to IRON MAN (2008). While not making our top 5, Dell did appear in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016).
. An Under Armour t shirt was worn by a villain in the opening action sequence.
. A Cadillac car is shown repeatedly in flashbacks to an event from 1991.
. Mercedes-Benz SUV, vans and even a fire truck are seen in the background throughout the movie.
. BMW cars and motorcycles are used in official government convoys.
. Robert Downey Jr. smartwatch is a “Pimp Pimpin aint easy” SS LED Watch from Tokyoflash. . . Source: sunglassesid.com.
. Chris Evans wears Ray-Ban sunglasses in one scene.
. When on the run, team Captain America are seen driving an old Volkswagen Beetle.
. Hawkeye, played by Jeremy Renner, drives a Nissan NV2500 van.
. Anthony Mackie is seen wearing Nike sneakers.
. An old Apple Macintosh appears in Spider-Man’s room.
. A Polycom SoundStation IP 7000 conference phone is seen, mostly discreetly, in a conference room.
. Robert Downey Jr. wears a pair of Police Neymar Jr. 1 NVAH sunglasses at various points in the movie.
. Multiple Ford Ranger and GMC vehicles appear in the opening action sequence.
. Hawkeye uses an unbranded Win & Win Rapido bow intead of the Hoyt one he used in AVENGERS: AG OF ULTRON (2015). Source: Archery360.
. Finally, FedEx makes a short but very noticeable appearance at the end of the movie.
For more information on our methodology, data or services, please contact us at info@concavebt.com
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