Music and advertising have coexisted in a symbiotic relationship ever since the inception of mass media. Brands use music to sell products, and the music industry uses advertising to reach fans and increase income. For decades, advertisers have developed various strategies to connect with disperse, demanding and often disloyal consumers. One of these strategies is product placement—the purposeful incorporation of a brand into film. Researcher and lecturer Candé Sanchez Olmos explores how brands have been integrated into music videos.

Olmos’s lecture is divided into two sections. Firstly, she looks at the traditional use of product placement. Secondly, she analyses a new trend observed in the product placement field that has evolved in the context of a convergence culture. In this trend, users spread content through social media and brands create their own music videos, becoming producers of cultural content in their own right.