Product Dis-Placement

“If anyone orders merlot, I’m leaving. I am not drinking any fucking merlot.”

In 2004, the comedy Sideways raked in five Oscar nominations, and obliterated the Merlot industry.

Following two middle-aged men on a jaunt through the California wine country, the movie was rife with easter eggs for wine nerds, and many a pointed barb aimed at a single, unfortunate varietal.

Nearly overnight, Merlot sales plummeted. Prices of Merlot bottles fell by up to 10%.

The Wine Industry called it the “Sideways effect” - perhaps the most famous example of product dis-placement in film.

How fickle a society do we live in, that a single movie can trigger an appreciable impact on an entire industry?

Sideways is hardly the only example of pop culture triggering radical, immediate changes in consumer demand.

In the 1934 film “It Happened One Night,” Clark Gable takes off his shirt and reveals he wasn’t wearing an undershirt. Sales of undershirts supposedly plummeted by 75%.

Buster Rhyme’s 2001 hit “Pass the Courvoisier” triggered an increase in sales of the cognac of 10-20%.

Kylie Jenner’s 2018 Tweet “Sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore?" wiped $1.3B off Snapchat's market cap.

Since Game of Thrones began airing, there have been over a thousand baby girls named “Khaleesi.”

Whether it’s James Bond’s recent love affair with Heineken or Wendy’s dishing out shade on Twitter, brands are trying their best to have the winds of pop culture blow in their favor. But in an age of authenticity, it’s perhaps the throwaway joke that can make the biggest impact.