The founder of the Hill Valley agency has established himself as one of the main players in product placement. In the midst of the Cannes Film Festival, Eric Nebot shares his production secrets with us. An interview with the man behind, among other things, Margot Robbie’s Chanel outfits Barbie.
Forbes: QWhat is the recipe for good product placement?
Eric Nebot: As long as the product fits authentically and organically into the story, product placement is successful. Back to future without Nike self-tying shoes and hoverboards, there would be no Mattel Back to future.
Which one are you most proud of?
Emergency: It’s hard to choose. Miraval u Emily in Paris could be. Chopard entered James Bond. Or Hennessy inside Once upon a time in Hollywood. This experience on the set in the presence of Quentin Tarantino was extraordinary. The team took away our mobile phones, so these are memories that will remain etched in my memory forever. This moment when Pacino arrives on set, in a 60’s costume with Di Caprio, backwards cap and white T-shirt, with a sheet of paper in hand to give him an off-camera answer. What elegance. This technical team that answers Tarantino in unison at the end of every last frame when he asks “We’re going to take another shot and you know why? » and suddenly all 100 technicians answer in unison at the same time “because we all love making movies!” “. exultant. And when Pacino finally asks us how to pronounce Hennessy XO, we pinch ourselves to believe it.
And the one that was least successful?
Emergency: We systematically try to control integrations. That’s our job. Choose and check. Precisely so that they would never find themselves in a situation where the placement would not be successful.
You worked with Spielberg as well as Kechiche: do you work on a blockbuster in the same way as an arthouse film?
Emergency: Spielberg is the author. I had the privilege of working with him on several occasions. At every meeting, I stand in front of him like a child in front of my idol and ask him 10,000 questions. He told me he felt like he was creating a monster in spite of himself. In time A story from the west side and from his failure in the theaters he realized that this failure came from a system of his own making. Audiences now travel only to see blockbusters identified as such. He blamed himself for changing the system. He actually invented the blockbuster with Jaws but he did not have this intention. He wanted to adapt a book he loved and success came despite himself. At least at this point. I think honesty is key to creating success. But so be it Jaws, Barbie Or The life of Adele, movies are made the same way. A collection of small hands, craftsmen, who work together to realize the director’s vision. Your film’s budget will determine the number of people on set, the ambition of the sets built, etc. But the production process is essentially the same. Any movie.
Have you ever pitched a brand to a director before talking to that brand?
Emergency: Systematically. We discuss the project with the brands we represent only when the director confirms the possibility of cooperation with them.
You started in 2012: what has changed in ten years? For example, has the #metoo phenomenon affected your activity?
Emergency: The market literally turned upside down after Covid and the platform explosion. More than a billion subscribers watch Netflix, Amazon, Disney + and others HBO Max. If you are a brand and want to reach this audience, you have no choice but to be integrated into the heart of the content. As for the #metoo movement, yes, it shook the American cinema market as well. In a very positive way. The place of women in American cinema has finally changed. And the place of minorities too. This is a good thing. We had to go through that. Unfortunately, in France I have the feeling that it is not quite there yet. Diversity in French films does not yet exist.
Do you think cinema is the most powerful marketing medium?
Emergency: Cinema and series yes. They are the only ones who bring emotions. Your brand will take on unimaginable strength when combined with a story and characters that the audience can identify with.
What changes in your work with the arrival of streaming platforms?
Emergency: We do a lot more. The number of contents has increased many times.
Do the world of brands and cinema communicate so well? How to ensure that these two worlds, with often different goals, talk and understand each other?
Emergency: The line between brands and cinematography is getting narrower. This is why we have established a manufacturing department within Hill Valley. Some of the brands we represent want us to produce emotional content for them. When we produced the “chef in the truck”, Ritz Paris was embodied through the food truck that François Perret drove on the roads of California. The show was broadcast on Netflix and France tv, and Ritz opened a counter that is a variation of the truck from the show. It’s what I call “emotional brand content” that Netflix’s audience has devoured. We recently produced a feature film about Bernard Magrez and the legacy of his wine empire, which will be broadcast on Amazon Prime at the end of the year. Here, too, we are far from an advertising film, but a documentary film with a real conflict, in the tradition of the “Successions” series. Brands can be translated into movies or series when they have a story, when the people who embody it are authentic and carry within themselves a conflict that they assume is being resolved. We are experiencing a turning point. It’s very exciting.
Isn’t this the risk of movies, as if by accident, Barbiealmost become big pubs and not just product placement areas?
Emergency: Ritz, Bernard Magrez, Barbie. As long as there is sincerity in the treatment, regardless of the means used, as long as there is emotion and authenticity, there is no risk. We worked on Barbie and know the filmmakers well. Their honesty is complete and utter. And that’s why the movie worked so well. You can’t fool more than 200 million viewers. Margot Robbie and her collaborators are not the first to create a story out of a toy. Transformers, Lego and so on came before them. But Barbie is the first toy adaptation that saw the light of day with a real author at the helm. This is a real movie with an honest and powerful message. The world of movies and series has found a new playing field. And that’s just the beginning.