Toaster’s Stroodle- Gretchen’s dad invented
Fendi- Regina’s purse
Lexus- Regina’s car
Diet Coke- Plastics drink during lunch
Silk soy milk- Cady's drink
Sprite- Gretchen's drink
Lacoste- Cady’s shirt
Doritos- On Cady's plate
Louis Vuitton- Cady’s bag
BMW- Ragina’s mom’s car
These products were strategically placed to reflect a message about the product being presented. For example, All of the Plastics (Cady, Regina, Gretchen, and Karen) drink Diet Coke during every lunch scene. The Plastics are also the "queen bees" of the high school. This send the message that if you're "cool" or want to be "queen bee", you drink Diet Coke. The same message is reflected with the Sprite, Silk Soy Milk and Doritos.
Regina's family is very clearly well off and wealthy. This is reinforced with the shot of her mother's BMW, her silver Lexus, and also the mention of her Fendi bag. These are all high- priced designer items that you would have to have a lot of money in order to afford. Later in the movie, Cady is seen with a Louis Vuitton purse, portraying her shift from home-schooled loser to high class Plastic. In terms of product placement, these items were carefully placed in order to portray the image of wealth and high society.
The most odd product placement was in the beginning when it was mentioned that Gretchen's dad invented Toaster's Stroodle so her family was "loaded". I'm not entirely sure of the intent of this product placement, but I think that perhaps it was supposed to send the message that Toaster's Stroodle is a big deal and a success. But beyond that, I don't think there was any significant impact on the characters or plot line.
Watching this movie for the purpose of this assignment made for an interesting view experience. This is one of my favorite movies of all time, so I have watched it probably about 100 times. But it was interesting to look at the way in which the products were placed to send a message and think about how that product altered or added to my perception of the different characters. Usually product placement is used as more of an advertising tool and paid for by the producers of the product. However, I have realized what a useful tool it can be for the producers of the movie. The products can say things about the characters without actually saying anything. A product can created an entirely different message based on how they are placed. For example, if Regina had driven up in an old beaten up Ford, the image of her would have been drastically altered in opposition with her shiny new Lexus.
