WcDonalds, Dk. Pepper, Pizza Hut, and You: On Anime and (Bootleg) Product (Dis)Placement

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The video you all knew I'd make eventually lol I've been wanting to make this video for a loooong time and in February I finally got started on it and now, at the end of May, HERE IT IS.
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A moment of thanks for the amazing MechaManDan on Twitter! He helped me find some of the clips used throughout the video and with some of the export settings!
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Sources:
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[@FlanGaming]

Another name for product displacement is "bland naming", which is honestly a little too clever for its own good. I like it.

[@conradojavier7547]

Give me a Mountain Juice, or a Beast(a Monster Parody).

[@rainsy8567]

bland naming is itself a bland name. beautiful

[@imaginekudryavka9485]

Ooh, that's so satisfying. I genuinely got a little tingle in my spine.

[@AlejandroRodolfoMendez]

it is also an ideal name for anime since you change brand for bland, like the japanises using L instear of R

[@krell.1415]

"yoo got the shinning!" "Don't you mean the shining?" "SHHH. Wanna get suued?"

[@jose7933]

did she just say venice and not venezia? *Ghiaccio noises*

[@bleachno9]

I think a huge factor in the growth if both product placement/displacement has to do with the general growth of slice of life, moe and visual novels, all of which are more rooted in reality than other genres and mediums. When a general feeling and atmosphere is being aimed for, of course products in your surroundings are gonna be a part of the story or general world building to convey more relatability

[@Bishounen]

I think another example is Initial D. Though in Initial D they used the name "Toreno" instead of Trueno, they later got the rights to use actual car brands. Though they mostly still use Chassis codes. But I wonder what the point of getting the rights are in the first place, because most people who watch past the first season will recognize all the models featured in the show, meaning they don't even have to change names, or name things at all, the viewers will instantly recognize them.

[@TheWaterPokemon]

I don't know why The Macky Horror Picture Show cover having the lyrics to Z Gundam's opening on it is so funny to me

[@Arro3]

Every time my brother drinks a Pepsi Next I have to try really hard not to say "Go Next!"

[@daviddyer3543]

Pepsi: Australia, let's #GONEXT

[@meaninglez100]

Cheese kun is best character.

[@rubykenny8961]

Wc Donald's is in Sgt.Frog (Keroro gunso)

[@prodbymercury]

*JoJo stand names have joined the chat*

[@WraxTV]

So Stein's Gate had a similar effect on Dr. Pepper that Rick & Morty had on that one nugget sauce. Interesting.

[@adelaiideAngel]

Stein’s Gate didn’t cause literal riots though.

[@mariokarter13]

*Jumps on Counter* "WHERE'S MY DR. PEPPER?! I NEED DR. PEPPER! I'M HOUOUIN KYOUMA!! TUTTURU!!!"

[@Error0101]

@@adelaiideAngel To be fair, there was no shortage of Dr. Pepper.

[@maximillianlylat1589]

@@Error0101 especially in texas

[@Error0101]

@@maximillianlylat1589 Wouldn't know. I've never left Texas before in my life.

[@zodayn]

Father instead of Mother is just hilarous for some reason

[@reysandchez1145]

father 2. me:what? what? what? what? 20 minutes later. what?

[@deltathedummy2303]

father 3: flint fucking dies

[@conradojavier7547]

I bet Father was known as "Planetbound" in the West.

[@veryexciteddog963]

F-MEGA

[@merrittanimation7721]

@@conradojavier7547 And Planetbound: Beginnings for the original.

[@SpongeMagic]

One of my favorite moments of product displacement is in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure - All Star Battle. While the manga and anime still retain the reference to a Pepsi sign in Morioh, the game did not have the license to use Pepsi. So in the Morioh stage for All Star Battle, Pepsi was replaced with Bepsi. I think they should've gone the extra mile and call it "Bepis" but that's just me.

[@MrDmoney156]

Sponge Magic Actually in the Japanese version they did in fact kept the pepsi logo sign

[@baldkiwi444]

LMAOOOOOO BEPIS

[@smiith5]

You serious?

[@AL2009man]

and thus, became a meme.

[@baldkiwi444]

@@AL2009man "thus"

[@RoboPlumber64]

6:04 I know it's impressive that Code Geass is #8 on the chat, but can we talk about how the top 3 Japanese animation DVD sales is Shrek 3 at 121k?

[@brayanargandonaflorentino548]

Also Tales from Earthsea made it to number 1. What a total bummer

[@deltathedummy2303]

cars is number 6 epic

[@CaptainRufus]

So.. SOME BAKA ONCE TOLD ME THE WORLD WAS GONNA OWN ME IM NOT THE SHARPEST TOOL IN THE SHED? :v

[@Technotoadnotafrog]

Number 2 is Ratatouille

[@ak-t7d6f]

I don't get it Shrek 3 was the worst Shrek movie

[@CurtisAlfeld]

Personally, product displacement is more memorable than blatant product placement. If I'm watching a show and someone is drinking Coca Cola, I'll have forgotten about it by the end of the episode. If they drink a Coma Cola, I'll laugh at the ridiculous name, and then when I'm at the convenience store the next day, I'll see Coca Cola on the shelf, remember Coma Cola, have a giggle, and then buy a bottle.

[@MasterZebulin]

This reminds me of an episode of Digimon Adventure where Koromon was drinking a knock-off of Coca-Cola. Except, instead of the tagline "anytime", it said "sometime".

[@jhosright_Motscoud]

and I won't buy that garbage.*

[@thebravegallade731]

Unless you are code geass. The reason it works here is because C2's one down to earth/silly trait is her obsession with pizza.

[@trajectoryunown]

And Red Gull actually makes the slogan make sense.

[@TheCarribeanCat]

One of my favourite parts of watching Beck was seeing all the increasingly ridiculous displacements of Radiohead and Kid A that cropped up in the background.

[@okayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy]

Kudos to you for not only citing which anime your clips are from in your video but citing your sources in your description, this is honestly one of my biggest pet peeves on KZbin.

[@sabinekine2737]

Though it'd be nice if they cited the music too. Some of these songs are really catchy.

[@sensibleGamer]

Ya know, Steins Gate could actually be a bit of product placement that if Dr. Pepper got in on it officially could ADD to the story Imagine if the whole movie he's drinking "Dk Pepper" and at the end when the "proper" timeline is reasserted he drinks from an actual "Dr Pepper"

[@trajectoryunown]

That would be one hell of an easter egg.

[@conradojavier7547]

Why can't Funtendo released Father 3 Remastered on Swap(The Console-Hybrid's name).

[@kurros1270]

ikr. Lazy Bastards.

[@HyouVizer]

"Swap" lmfao love this

[@geoffreychauvin1474]

Didn’t you hear? It’s coming to the zshop next month along with the other two dad games lol

[@ShinMario098]

At least they had the decency to add Nass and Locus to Superb Slam Boys.

[@hystericallover5989]

Rawpowered I’m still shocked by the fact that they added Colonel Phoenix from G-10

[@darrin8864]

Pony Ponystation? If I changed the name to avoid litigation, I would have gone with "Pony Neighstation".

[@Kentama]

Actually, it's a common misperception that there's "more anime than ever being created" in the modern day. While there may be more _individual shows_ being created in the modern day, the actual _production minutes_ of TV animation in the last 20 years was _actually_ the highest back in 2006, which dropped precipitously in the immediate following years, and has slowly been recovering over the past decade. I think part of the misperception stems from the fact that the single-cour model has become a lot more prevalent after the anime bubble burst in the second half of the aughts, leading to more series with less overall seasons. Personally, I'd bet that product placement has increased largely because the Production Committee model has come to dominate the industry, which in-and-of-itself lends to more mutually beneficial business-centric practices.

[@mariokarter13]

70% Single Cour 20% Double Cour 8% Sequel Seasons 2% Long-Running Shounen

[@Error0101]

@@mariokarter13 Yeah, pretty watch.

[@sulthanms305]

ah yes my favourite drinks dr.people ! containing 21 different people !

[@paintedcrow]

Soylent has them beat...

[@TheAyanamiRei]

Wait...so does this mean that Dr. Pepper uses PEPPERS to get it's flavor?? MADNESS!!

[@originaluseername]

uuuuugh

[@hitkid2456]

Mortal Kombat has them all beat. It has 56 special pepoles!!!!

[@zodayn]

I lreally liked your angle to this topic. A lot of people hate product placement and talk in a condescending way because studio don't need the money and advertise a product in a manner that distracts the viewer. Those people often don't know the economics of making an animated series that isn't a blockbuster franchise. This video makes it clear in a fun, honest and understandable way.

[@md_vandenberg]

I think most people do understand the economics of it. What they don't like, is product placement that beats them over the head. The main character's car has the proper logos and name? Cool. Oh, so-and-so likes Sprite? Cool. But once it feels like an ad, that's when I roll my eyes and curse the dumb bastard who okay'd this little stunt. Advertisers: let your products ride the background. People will see it.

[@boshwa20]

@@md_vandenberg Honestly, just look at anything you bought, and you'll probably see some kind of logo on it.

[@gabrielramirez7557]

My favorite fake brand is one that showed up in Amazing Spider-Man. Instead of using Google, they use a fake substitute called Bing.

[@ChadMojito]

"Product displacement"! That's a brilliant term. Love it.

[@Diamonddeath]

“Doctor” and “Dakota” sound similar in Japanese. “Pepper” and “People” sound similar in Japanese. “Star” and “Suda” sound similar in Japanese. That’s really cool!

[@freakfoxvevo7915]

Love the "bootleg stuff" twitter, bard

[@bombabombom3603]

I'm not gonna lie, every time I see WcDonald's in these shows, I cannot help but think of the WacArnold's parody from Chappelle's Show, and the fucking hilarious line "WACARNOLDS IS TEARING THIS FAMILY APART!" plays in my head.

[@cheesebatto]

11:05 Caca Cola. I'm so happy this exists. As a Mexican, i use the word 'caca' a lot and, for whatever reason, i find it hilarious every time i see it. So thank you, Japan.

[@MangoChannel]

You discover the bizarre nature of JoJo's when they use a bootleg Coca-Cola in Part 2 but use an official Pepsi sign in Part 4.

[@crimsongrain6163]

Hey Lisa the painful music, I see you are also cultured

[@GeneralClaus1232]

Mother 2 lost spiritual successor Father 2

[@BelleFlower15]

Using the name Wacdonalds even in fanfiction was one of my favorite parts about the Inuyasha fandom back in the day.

[@joannamysluk8623]

"WcDonald's" . Is that supposed to be a restaurant or a public toilet service? Also, how the hell do you pronounce that? WackDonald's?

[@BonaparteBardithion]

When it's pronounced it usually is something like "Wak'donaludo". It's a very common substitute.

[@countcapricorn]

The overall quality of this video is noticeably higher than every other video you've put out IMO, so I'd say the effort you put in was worth it. In particular, I'd say it's far more engaging on a basic level for your average viewer than normal, most likely due to it not being an opinion/list video. Not ragging on those, I enjoy yours a fair amount (otherwise I wouldn't be subbed), but dissections and discussions are far outnumbered by the comparative glut of opinion/list videos on your channel. I think you would be well served to do these kinds of videos more often, although it might slow the production of other content some. It's good stuff! Small unrelated nitpick: Your audio's clipping a bit when your voice reaches higher pitches. It might be a mic issue, or perhaps you're just in an environment that's hard to soundproof. It's far from a glaring issue, though.

[@captainnintendo]

I'm more of a Bepsi kind of guy xD

[@cherryred6804]

Captain N no bepis

[@Marco_Onyxheart]

Steins;Gate got me into drinking Dr. Pepper. Me actually really liking it kept me doing it.

[@blarghinatelazer9394]

Coke? Pepsi? Nah, Dr. Pepper is the superior choice.

[@nakenmil]

I'm surprised to hear that this is a "recent years" phenomenon in anime. Product Displacement has been a thing for decades and decades in western comic books, at least in Europe, where American brands are often inserted sometimes as satire of American consumer culture, other times for the reasons mentioned above - ie. eye candy, "appealing to the kids" I guess, recognizeability, etc. If you read some Asterix issues, they love contrasting the Roman Empire and modern fads/products.

[@Zubatticus]

This was actually super interesting! I learned a lot! Marketing IS cool!

[@5uperM]

I'm digging the LISA music.

[@CappnRob]

Holy shit the Actual Product Placement in so many of these is TACKY as HELL. It's straight up in the same vein as that Wayne's World scene..... but without the parody, lol.

[@WakkaMadeInYevon]

I sure do love WcDonalds Big Mics

[@OgoidAlucard]

"Caca-Cola"! I loled cuz in portuguese "caca" is a slang for poo xD

[@thatoneguynextdoor8794]

In german too XD

[@_EyeOfTheTiger]

And Hindi lol

[@asc7667]

"everyone is drinking poo-cola, its so refreshing"

[@saschyplayz3857]

Caca is also the way people say poo in romania

[@nicholaslienandjaja1815]

Dookie Cola

[@Mictac]

Farther 2 then earthbound music P.S I love mother 2 And 3

[@Aqua_Xenossia]

It’s always made me laugh when an anime does an obvious over-detailed product placement or displacement. That perfect juxtaposition makes a series that much more memorable

[@anonymoustraveller4180]

Like Code Geass and Pizza Hut. I still can't drive next to one without yelling "JIBUN WO!"

[@lidu6363]

To all non-europeans out there, "WC" stands for toilet, washroom, bathroom, etc. (abbreviation of Water Closet) 🚽 I recently found out some of you didn't know...

[@chaves12121]

Mob Psycho have the MobDonalds

[@Real1Gaming]

This made me think of Great Teacher Onizuka, both the anime and manga. In it a Toyota Cresta is shown all the time, playing parts in the plot. But the brand is sometimes treated bad with the car breaking and being crushed by Onizuka over and over. Toyota must have OK'd that to happen somehow... Mercedez Benz is also shown a few times.

[@FarelForever]

It's admirable when companies have the guts to permit things like this

[@brayanargandonaflorentino548]

Don't forget the legendary Toyota Sprinter Trueno ae86 from Initial D

[@brayanargandonaflorentino548]

My Crestaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Klayton_Nivel]

LISA SOUNDTRACK WITH S;G VISUALS AAAAAAAHHHH 'tis gud.

[@Oddyisodd]

Roman Go bowling hey I’m not the only person who noticed the Lisa music

[@Jakepearl13]

Highway king is best track

[@MrDmoney156]

About time someone did a video on this topic 😁

[@BusterBeachside]

I STILL like to call McDonald's "WicDonald's" to this day because of seeing it in anime. Also, I've been craving Carl's Jr since yesterday, and seeing that "Eat like you mean it" cup in the middle of this video has cemented my lunch decision for the day, much to my body's chagrin. ...Might pick up a Big Mac for dinner, though. Entirely unrelated sidenote: vegetables are yucky!

[@JayColor]

ET was nowhere near the first product placement in film. There has been product placement since all the way back to the 1920s.

[@luketeddymh]

I remember Persona 5 having a lot of references to real things, like Doctor What? and Cake Knight Rises. Do these count as product displacement?

[@TheMasterfulEmerld]

Anyone here for the official WcDonald’s?

[@doraeguyakaneddie6586]

Silvagunner liked this video

[@Crlarl]

_Initial D_ had some issues with brands. Some were allowed, others were given alternate spellings: Trueno > Toreno, Nismo > Nisno, Dunlop > Danrep, HKS > NKS

[@indieflower9810]

I liked and subbed 💞 This topic is WICKED interesting tbh and mixing that with anime?? I'm in

[@coyotearmory]

Funny enough, this reminds me that early CZ75 short rails and early Jericho 941 pistols carry a "weeb tax" because of gunsmith cats and cowboy bepop respectively.

[@sleeplessbeauty86]

"The Macky Horror Picture Show" oh my God I love anime

[@67tedward]

That LISA music.

[@Magmafrost13]

I wonder if its not just because they'd have to pay a licensing fee for broadcasting in Japan, but also because that fee wouldn't necessarily cover distribution in other regions, or maybe only for some regions, and it'd be a huge pain for the studios to keep track of. I suppose the anime industry isn't known for giving even the slightest shit about international audiences, but I know this is a huge problem for the BBC show QI, for example, they use a lot of stock images and videos that they dont have licenses for outside the UK, so there's no home release for most episodes. The idea that brands want to *be paid* to have their product advertised is insane to me anyway though.

[@Patricknotstarr]

Damn, you a fan of LISA?

[@RedBardIsCool]

It's my all time fav indie game!

[@pillarnexustheancientgladiator]

"How is this place not getting sued?" One of my top five favorite moments from Toradora! It's good when it makes sense to have real-world fixtures, like the instrument companies in K-On! or the video games in High-Score Girl.

[@josealfonso8370]

Ah yes, my favorite youtuber, Crimson Bard

[@taylorwright7428]

Honestly, D.K. Pepper sounds like a drink in the Mario universe, and I'm going to assume it is, from now on. (It was first made in New Donk City as a reference to their biggest event in the past and is highly popular around the world as well.)

[@hitkid2456]

It's a barrel of refreshment!

[@taylorwright7428]

@@hitkid2456 Ooh! Good tagline!

[@charluspupuce]

LISA review when?

[@RedBardIsCool]

Watch my scary games video! I talk about LISA a lot there.

[@e-male896]

It was because code geass was sponsored by pizza hut

[@Hinuraka]

Lisa music!

[@EBroxas72]

I appreciate the use of Lisa the Paine falls soundtrack as background music in and just overall in this channel it seems. That game has a fantasy sound track

[@Ringworm1281]

Personally I've never had a problem with product placement, as long as it's done well. It gives it a sense of realism. However if whatever reason they can't get the rights it's better if they make up their own 100% fictional in-universe brands; i.e Duff in The Simpsons or Red Apple cigarettes in Tarantino movies.

[@NovaSaber]

My favorite product displacement is Koushiro/Izzy's "Pineapple" computer in Digimon.

[@thereplication2567]

Subbed ...already so I'll just drop a Like.

[@kc_9970]

Fun fact: In 2018, McDonalds ACTUALLY did this stunt by putting the famous Golden Arches upside down to commemorate the importance of women. No, I'm not kidding. This is literally close to have a bland-naming counterpart in real life.

[@SarahLJP]

7:59 Like I posted in your later product placement video. There is a Famicom Disk System version of Mario Bros. where the development of it was fully funded by the company Nagatanien (永谷園). it's called 帰ってきたマリオブラザーズ (Kaette kita Mario Bros.) or "Return of Mario Bros.". It has ads for Nagatanien Mario branded products. Like Mario instant rice curry.

[@Unclaimed_Username]

For me, it's all about that game of legal chicken anime plays with brands. Exactly *how* close can you get? If you replicate everything on Ronald McDonald, but invert some key colors, would that count? I dream of the day were we see a show completely SATURATED with product placement. Like to the point of mimicking that one scene in Wayne's World, but unironically. But upon closer examination it's revealed that *every single brand* is off so subtly that nobody could tell. Multiple lawsuits are filed by companies trying (and failing) to reap a profit off this anime with platinum balls. I dream of that day, and will by the BD set of whatever show does.

[@goleogthais]

I much honestly prefer product displacement, it makes the show more charming; I actually dropped 5:19 Alice to Zouroku because just how invasive, how blatant, in-your-face, the product placement was.

[@koernerkomedy]

My favorite example of product displacement is in Tenshi no 3P, where the main character wears a Too Tighters t-shirt and has a poster for Goldpray album "A Head Full of Creams."

[@ceruelion815]

Anyone suddenly come back to this video after McDonald's US literally went in on the joke?

[@ratykat]

Came here from the bootleg Facebook page, great content! You have a new sub :)

[@sleep-deprivedalien]

if you think this is bad, you should check out the localized names for stands from jojo's bizarre adventure. there's a stand named limp bizkit and they straight up changed it to flaccid pancake...

[@SpellboundWolf]

The oldest Anime that I've seen do this is Inuyasha. Whenever Kagome returns to the present time, she and her gal pals eat lunch at 'WacDonalds'. Burgers and fries, baby. 2:46 For live-action, my favorites are Friends and The Adventures of Pete and Pete.

[@brandonsanchez7465]

I personally think one of the best product placement anime was Initial D from the cars used in the series.

[@videakias3000]

i tried to watch code geas once. i watched just one episode and i gave up because i had no idea what the fuck is going on.

[@mlgcactus1035]

are you telling me that shrek sold more DVDs then my neighbor totoro

[@Mysterion557]

Now WcDonalds is real

[@DarthAlphaTheGreat]

All these jokes about WacDonald's makes me want to eat McDonald's. ....oh.... I see....

[@user-le8ul4nr5t]

My grandma used to use wac as a synonym for vomiting, so it's not the most apetizing thing i've ever seen...

[@zelectrode3337]

4:20 I told you to get a *B E P I S*

[@kirukiru5924]

I love product displacement, gives me a great laugh at the creative names they come up with.

[@peytonsims5380]

So what your saying is... I should rewatch code geass and steins;gate?

[@LikaLaruku]

Meanwhile in China, a series called Mosspaca Advertising Department is literally getting paid to advertise brands.

[@LikaLaruku]

Ah yea, there's also Tiger & Bunny, where the brands are front & center on the hero's mech suits. Why a fictional city in New York is advertising for Amazon Japan is anyone's guess.

[@necromax13]

What is this, a crossover episode? Love you, Bard.

[@PhantomZeroHero]

Tiger & Bunny has product placement as sponsors on the characters!

[@Your_crazy675]

They used this in a bag xd

[@Trauson]

Literally i just saw Guilty Gear Revelator and i Said BECAUSE OF ANIME I LEARNT ABOUT GUILTY GEAR Because of Genshiken , they were playing guilty gear SO MUCH that i was like hey that fighting game looks cool. Is it real? And when i found i was like OMG YES

[@tearlach47]

2:30 Did Watamote intend on making this WcDonalds look like Oppai?

[@EmiCheese]

Marketing is not just cool, it's AWESOME! I mean how subtle yet effective things have to be to work it's mind boggling when you think about it. So, yeah. Feel proud about it n.n

[@77heimdal]

Pizza Hut also had a rather significant partnership deal with the Series Maria Watches Over Us and had repeated placements in certain later seasons. Also the airing anime Love Is Hard For Otakus is full of it of other various works the publisher has rights to also has actual game footage from the Monster Hunter game series.

[@RedBardIsCool]

Oh, Pizza Hut's had several significant partnerships--Code Geass, Darker than Black, Maria Watches Over Us, The Girl Who Leapt Through Space, the first Nanoha movie, the Eva movies, etc.

[@shinkaiatsuya950]

Learn from Punch Out not to mess with licensing issues.

[@nerosmith2578]

Why are the Rocky Horror lips singing the intro of Zeta Gundam? Wonder if there's some pun or reference I'm missing.

[@cheekychelldos1045]

Is that LISA music??? AMAZING

[@sillygoose3136]

Lisa the Painful

[@TatsubeiYagyu]

I've been following you on Twitter for maybe a couple of years now, didn't realize you made videos! This was really well done, the data was informative, and tons of examples throughout. Not to mention you covering this trend makes perfect sense, haha. Bonus points for all the Mother tracks and Luffy images, this incredibly entertaining and I am going to show all my friends.