A scene from the film, "Uncle Drew.". PHoto / AP
Nearly 1.7 million people saw the movie Uncle Drew during its opening weekend, paying money to watch what some consider to be an hour-and-45-minute-long Pepsi commercial. But experts say that it likely won't be the last time we can expect consumers to pay to see so-called branded content.
The film,
which Pepsi co-produced, features the company's logo prominently in some scenes and centres the plot on a character who is synonymous with the beverage maker's online ad campaign.
What makes branded content different from other kinds of advertising is that it does not have a sales message, said Mara Einstein, author of Black Ops Advertising.
Instead of selling, branded content informs and entertains. "The goal at the end of all this is when you need to go out to buy this product, you'll buy from [the brand]," Einstein said. "But it's a longer time frame."
Brands have been working in this space for a long time, Einstein said, dating back to the advent of soap operas. The serialised daytime dramas were frequently sponsored by companies selling household cleaning products to homemakers.
