Jer Warren
Does literally every Apple TV+ show feature Apple product placement?

We watched Schmigadoon recently, which features a couple getting lost in the woods and then ending up in a weird "like Colonial Williamsburg" fantasyland where "phones don't work" and there doesn't seem to be technology of any kind, yet Keegan Michael Key wore his Apple Watch through the whole dang show, despite clearly having a dead battery.

One thing that made me laugh, though: there's an Apple Store in downtown Schmigadoon:
Jul 31, 2023 at 2:25pmWeb
Show threadSean Eric FaganJul 31, 2023

@nyquildotorg Not all, but mostly, yeah.

I do wonder about the watch there, though.

(We also enjoyed S2, Schmicago, although not as much. But I am pretty much *never* going to get tired of watching Key dance and sing.)

Show threadJer WarrenJul 31, 2023
@kithrup all the activewear they wore and hiking gear they carried had fake-company logos on them, so the real Apple products really jumped out at me.
Show threadSean Eric FaganJul 31, 2023
@nyquildotorg I've heard from multiple people that Apple doesn't *insist* on TV+'s shows using Apple products, but I got the impression that it doesn't *hurt* to kiss up to the money.
Show threadSean Eric FaganJul 31, 2023

@nyquildotorg Apple historically hasn't *paid* for product placement -- the products tend to be distinctive, so filmmakers like having them in. But then  does have some restrictions -- most notably, villains can't use  devices, and this spoilered an entire season of "24."

I chatted with 's Product Placement person back in... '03 I think? An episode of CSI had a tibook in it, but it was running Windows, and I pointed this out to her. We laughed.

Show threadJer WarrenJul 31, 2023
@kithrup Apple definitely does have some history of paying for placement after 2003. There were entire plot lines on ABC's Modern Family about, featuring and seen through the use of Apple devices, and I always looked for the paid placement notice in the end credits.

I know about the restrictions, and have fun noticing all the "good guys" on shows like Yellowstone driving Dodge pickups, while all the "bad guys" drive Chevies with the bowtie logos removed. Had not heard about spoiling 24 vis that mechanism, though. That's hilarious.
Show threadSean Eric FaganJul 31, 2023

@nyquildotorg I don't know that Apple "paid" for that offensive half-hour commercial -- I do know that, yes, they provided equipment, but I don't know if it was permanent or a loan. (I would not be surprised if they contacted , said they'd do a lot of positive attention about iPads, but they needed some... and then some of the crew kept them after filming.)

Apple and Disney were *incredibly* close at the time, remember.

Show threadJer WarrenJul 31, 2023
@kithrup one fun Disney / ABC thing I noticed was on one show, a kid had a glass-framed The Mandalorian poster on his wall prior to The Mandalorian even being released. And, because this episode aired before the Mandalorian release, it had to be filmed quite a bit before. ABC sitcoms to to Disneyland more than any other networks, by a lot, lol.
Show threadSean Eric FaganJul 31, 2023
@nyquildotorg Not surprising -- in addition to the corporate advertising, getting *permits* for the filming is a lot easier when it's an ABC show.