Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Day 128 - Julie & Julia Product Placement: Haribo

Day 128.

Most modern-day movies feature a fair amount of product placement and Julie & Julia is no exception. I think it's fair to say that having seen this movie a couple of times, I'm pretty qualified to spot pretty much every instance where the movie seems to be promoting a certain product or brand, intentionally or not. And aside from the most obvious cases (blogspot.com, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, branches, 9/11, etc.), the film does a pretty good job of using brands to create a realistic environment, rather than blatantly shoving products in our faces (E.T., I'm looking at you). Anywho, I figured I might as well make it my job to point out specific cases of product placement because, hey, what else am I going to do? Introducing the first installment in a series of new posts...
Julie & Julia Product Placement!

Today's Featured Product: Haribo

Haribo!

Now, I'd actually never heard of Haribo until just recently, but apparently it's some sort of German confectionery company, famous for their gummy bears and Happy Cola Gummi Candy.

What the fuck??

Seriously though, am I outing myself as a Troli Sour Brite Crawlers snob or did this company just come out of nowhere? I recognize that I might just be highlighting my ignorance, but I did not know Haribo was legitimate brand until, well, I saw it in Julie & Julia. Hell, for the longest time, I thought it sounded Japanese.

HAAAA-LEEE-BOOOAA!!!*

*It's okay, guys. I can make that joke because I'm Asian.

And like, "Happy Cola Candy?" That's definitely a Japanese thing. Only the craziest of candy confectioners could've concocted a candy creation completely consisting of cola. And them sures ain't German, I can tells you that. I did, however, spend a little time on their website and discovered this little mascot guy.


Strangely enough, he looks exactly like the custom "Lawrence Dai" avatar character I would always create in those old Backyard Sports games for PC. You know what I'm talking about--Backyard Baseball, Backyard Soccer, Backyard Football, etc. Basically, I'm trying to say that the mascot of Haribo looks exactly like a cartoon version of me in the Backyard Sports universe--a messy point, but one that had to be made.

Pablo "The Secret Weapon" Sanchez is a boss.

But I digress. Haribo, the candy, is featured in the scene where Julie Powell steps out to pick up some groceries after her fight with Eric. It's only in the frame for a few seconds, but it's pretty prominent.


Well, at least it was prominent enough to quietly enter my subconscious after 128 J&J viewings, which later compelled me to buy a bag of Haribo goods for myself without even knowing I was doing so.





Dammit! How the Hell did I get here? And why the fuck am I eating gummi peach candy? This isn't something I usually eat!

DAMN YOU TO HELL, JULIE & JULIA PRODUCT PLACEMENT!!!

Note: If any Haribo execs are reading this, please allow me to direct you to the PayPal button on the upper left hand sidebar, so I can be properly compensated for prominently featuring your product on my blog.

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Julie & Julia Quote of the Day: "And I have a hyper-acidic stomach."
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33 comments:

  1. Kids and Grown-ups love it so, The Happy World of Haribo! Love me them Twin Cherries!

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  2. I was confused until I realised that "the little mascot guy" meant the kid, as opposed to the bear. You do look kinda like the bear though, IMO.

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  3. this is a fantastic post on nostalgia, candy and one mans sugar flavoured ignorance. every time i check your blog in the morning, it makes my day

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  4. x) Love the second anonymous comment.

    Also, as a proud (half) German Haribo consumer I must express my outrage at your feigned ignorance of this wonderful brand. Fun fact: the company holds a Guiness World Record for partnering with the same spokesperson in their ads longer than any other company IN THE ENTIRE WORLD (imagine Tyra Banks' voice reading out that last part).

    HaRiBo is a contraction of Hans Riegel Bonn, it is rumored. I have yet to confirm this fun fact. I'll call it a fact nonetheless, to make it seem more like one.

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  5. as far as i can tell, you've probably never heard of haribo because it's way less prominent in the states than in europe (i.e. you're excused!). when i was studying abroad a in spain a few years ago, that haribo shit was everywhere!

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  6. Kristin is right, way more Haribo in Europe than in the states, where we seem to prefer Black Forest or your aforementioned Trolli. I think Black Forest is the superior line (they always seem to be the juiciest gummis with the most intense flavor), with Haribo a close second.
    But Lawrence, how have you missed Haribo all your life? They may be more common in Europe, but they're all over... you can even buy them at Target for God's sake:
    http://www.target.com/Haribo-Bears-8-oz-Gummi-Value/dp/B003ZTNFH8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&keywords=haribo&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-1&qid=1302183985&rh=&searchRank=target104545&id=Haribo%20Bears%208-oz%20Gummi%20Value&node=1038576|1287991011&searchSize=30&searchPage=1&searchNodeID=1038576|1287991011&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0

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  7. I'm a big fan of the Haribo frogs myself. The big green ones, not the little colored ones.

    Ahhh you are making me want to bust out the old Backyard Soccer game, Lawrence! Loved that when I was a kid.

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  8. I <3 the Quote of the Day: "And I have a hyper-acidic stomach."

    LOL!

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  9. Thank Gawd it was Haribo and not "Let's Party!", the deceptively cheerfully-named candy imposter I found in a 7-11 in Thailand last year, which, to quote my own blog, "tasted like what I assume you’d get if you made cough drops out of lighter fluid."

    (I must be clear, though, that that was the only bad thing I ate during my 10 days in Thailand--the food there is the best I've ever had anywhere.)

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  10. If it's not Haribo gummy bears, they are not gummy bears. I actually had no idea they made other candy!

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  11. Pablo Sanchez was probably the best all-around Backyard baseball player, but let's not forget the speed of Pete Wheeler.

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  12. Haribo became an addiction of mine when I was a kid in England, back in the 80s . . . their gummi bears are the BEST. I'll admit, I'm a huge gummi bear snob, but they're just so good. Especially when they've toughened up a bit and they're not all gross sticky-gummy.

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  14. So I was on listverse.com and was reading about the 15 things you didn't know were German and found this at number 7:
    "Gummi Bears
    I (and probably most American readers) always thought of Gummi Bears as an American product. The sweet treats were invented in the 1920′s by Hans Riegel Sr when he started the Haribo company. Not only do they produce Gummi Bears, and all other chewy candy under the Haribo name, but the company also makes all Trolli brands of gummy candy, like the popular gummi worms."
    I had to share this with you because you said how you hadn't heard of haribo and liked tolli candy... now you know they are the same!

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  15. Habiro Happy Cola is my favorite candy ever after Habiro Fizzy cola (which is happy cola with a super-awesome sour powder over it). Happy cola can be bought nearly anywhere, but fizzy cola I can usually only find at the euro mart or at the asian grocery. When I went to germany last year though, I was in fizzy cola heaven.

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