中国观众在观看《变形金刚3：月黑之时》(Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon)之际，除了前两部中的那些外国机器人明星外，还会认出更多的东西。这部大片的终结篇将于周四上映，片中将出现一些家喻户晓的中国品牌，这是一场前所未有的产品植入推广活动的一部分。
主人公山姆(Sam)由希亚・拉博夫(Shia LaBeouf)扮演，亮相时穿着一件美特斯邦威(Meters/bonwe)出品的T恤衫。美特斯邦威是中国年轻人熟悉的一个中档服装零售品牌，是《变形金刚3：月黑之时》里出现的四个中国品牌之一。
这部影片里的中国品牌营销活动，力度之大创下了迄今为止所有的好莱坞影片之最，凸显出中国公司走向世界、以及借助全球营销手段提升国内形象的决心。
"主要动机是扩大他们在国外市场的品牌认知度，但在其他人看来，重心在于国内市场，因为在外国影片中做广告的效果更好，"奥美广告(Ogilvy & Mather)北京公司的张笛(Didi Zhang)说。奥美北京此次帮助中国最大个人电脑制造商联想(Lenovo)在《变形金刚3：月黑之时》上做植入营销。
电影里的机器人也被赋予了"中国制造"的特色。"小诸葛"(Brains)头发又尖又长，双眼突出，闪着蓝光，它是由一台联想Edge笔记本电脑变形而来。还有一台TCL平板电视在影片中短暂露面。
另一个中国品牌甚至把自己的名字塞进了电影中的台词：一位科学家告诉山姆，他必须喝完自己的舒化低脂奶――这是中国最大的奶制品公司之一伊利(Yili)的一款产品。
影工场娱乐营销咨询有限公司(Fireworks)的刘思汝表示，"伊利本想让大黄蜂（Bumblebee ，山姆的汽车机器人）喝牛奶补充能量，但遭到了导演拒绝。"影工场与派拉蒙影业(Paramount Pictures)协商，在电影里植入了上述中国品牌。刘思汝补充道，他们费了很大力气，才说服制片人让尚未在美国出售的产品出现在了《变形金刚3：月黑之时》里。
"一开始，导演和制片人对中国抱有一些偏见，因为他们从未到过中国，"美特斯邦威的谢伟表示，"我们邀请他们来中国，到上海和我们公司参观，而后他们改变了对中国的印象。"美特斯邦威率先将中国产品广告植入了好莱坞影片，该公司的名字曾出现在《变形金刚2》里。
中国的营销专家们相信，人们在全球媒体中很快将看到更多的中国产品。美特斯邦威正着手向电脑游戏《植物大战僵尸》(Plants & Zombies)进行大规模品牌植入。张笛表示，"《变形金刚3》的成功植入很快将加速这一趋势。"
译者/何黎
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001039702
Chinese audiences watching Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon will recognise more than just the alien robot stars from the previous movies. In the latest blockbuster sequel, which opens on Thursday, household Chinese brand names loom large as part of an unprecedented product placement push.
Sam, the protagonist played by Shia LaBeouf, appears in a T-shirt from Meters/bonwe � a mid-level clothing retailer well known to many young Chinese and one of four Chinese brands to appear in the film.
The Chinese branding campaign is the largest so far in any single Hollywood movie, highlighting Chinese companies' determination to go global and also use global marketing techniques to raise their domestic profiles.
"The main motivation is to expand their brand recognition in foreign markets, but for others the focus is on the domestic market because the effect with foreign movies is better," says Didi Zhang at advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather Beijing, which worked with Lenovo on Transformers 3.
The robots have also been given the Made-in-China touch. Brains, a spiky-haired robot with bulging fluorescent blue eyes, transforms itself out of a Lenovo Edge computer, sold by China's largest PC maker. A TCL flatscreen television also makes a brief appearance.
One Chinese brand even makes it into the script when a scientist tells Sam that he has to finish his Shuhua Low Lactose Milk � a product of Yili, one of China's largest dairy companies.
"Yili wanted Bumblebee [Sam's car robot] to drink milk to prop up his energy, but that was rejected by the director," says Liu Siru at Filmworks, an entertainment marketing company that negotiated the Chinese product placements with Paramount Pictures. Ms Liu adds that it was hard work convincing the film's producers that a product not available in the US should be placed in the movie.
"In the beginning, the director and the producer had some prejudice against China because they'd never been here," says Xie Wei at Meters/bonwe, which pioneered Chinese product placement in Hollywood movies with an appearance of its name in Transformers 2. "We invited them to China to come to visit Shanghai and our company, and then their impression of China changed."
Chinese marketing experts believe that their nation's products will quickly become more visible in global media. Meters/bonwe is pushing large-scale product placement in Plants & Zombies, a computer game. "Transformers 3 will quickly speed up the trend," said Ms Zhang.
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