Brand X: Difference between revisions

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{{trope}}
[[File:danvs_genericos_4894.jpg|link=Dan Vs.|right]]
{{quote|''Here we have a can of the world's most popular cola -- no names, no lawsuits.''|'''Richard Hammond''' in ''[[Brainiac Science Abuse|Brainiac: Science Abuse]]''.}}
 
When a script calls for a consumer product, and no one has offered the producers a [[Product Placement]] deal, a television program must resort to making up a brand -- or, in some cases, [[Pixellation|obscuring a real brand]] so that it can't be identified. Another technique is to make a lookalike label that doesn't show the actual brand name -- for instance, a bright-red soft drink can inscribed, in white letters, "Cola".
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In addition to Brand X, some movie and TV producers may choose to use discontinued products as a point of style. [[Quentin Tarantino]] is known for using boxes of discontinued cereal in his movies, such as "Fruit Brute". Wes Anderson used a discontinued brand of European cigarettes in ''[[The Royal Tenenbaums]]''.
 
At one time this was a universal practice in advertising, allowing a marketer to [[Side Byby Side Demonstration|compare his product to a competitor]] without actually ''naming'' the competitor and reminding the viewer of why he might prefer it. The competitor would often be referred to as "the leading brand", giving rise to the question, "if your product is so good, why is the other brand leading?" In the last two decades, advertising has gotten bolder, and it is more common to see a real competing product in an ad than not -- or at least a minimally veiled reference to a competing product (ie, a detergent box with the basic design and color scheme of Tide, but no logo). The practice of ''explicitly naming'' the competition was arguably begun by the great McDonald's/Burger King ad wars of the late '70s and early '80s (specifically, in a Burger King commercial starring a then-four-year-old [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Sarah Michelle Gellar]]). There was also the [[Pepsi Challenge]] where Pepsi ran ads showing in blind taste tests, people preferred Pepsi over Coke.
 
However, in some cases it may be mandatory. For example, in Germany it used to be against the law to compare your product to a competitor's product when it was identifiable. Even now, the "laws against unfair competition" allow only verifiable objective comparisons without diminishing the competitor, legally regulated to a point where advertisers rather take a pass on comparisons than risk exposing themselves to lawsuits.
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[[Bland-Name Product]] is a subtrope. See also [[Acme Products]], which is any generic corporation that seems to supply ''everything'' a character, or entire cast, uses. When this happens with firearms, it is an [[AKA-47]].
 
Incidentally, the notion of using ''fake'' brands that resemble the real brand ([[I CarlyICarly|Using a pear instead of an apple]], for instance) is being seen by marketers as something that improves awareness of the real brand. Amusingly, they're calling it [[Product Displacement]].
 
Not to be confused with the band Brand X.
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== Apple Computer Parodies ==
* Many computers in fiction (especially cartoons) will prominently feature a logo consisting of some kind of fruit, usually a pear, as a reference to Apple Computer's various products. Some of them (especially during the early iMac's time) will also bear a strong resemblance in other ways:
** Although they look somewhat different from the iMac, the Navis in ''[[Serial Experiments Lain (Anime)|Serial Experiments Lain]]'' are made by Tachibana General Labs (Tachibana translates to Mandarin Orange). Of course, there are also some non-disguised references to Apple computers, such as a (small) picture of an iMac with an Apple advertising slogan.
*** Incidentally, Lain's Navi ''is'' based on a Mac, albeit an even older one than the iMac: namely, the [[wikipedia:Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh|Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh]].
** In ''[[Digimon Adventure (Anime)|Digimon Adventure]]'', the brand of laptop Koushiro used was never named, but it looked like an iBook and had a pineapple symbol on it; this led to it [[Fan Nickname|being nicknamed]] the "PiBook" in fandom. Averted in the [[Short Anime Movie|Short Anime Movies]], which all use real computers running a Windows 95 variant and are accurately branded as such.
** A similar laptop shows up in ''[[Ouran High School Host Club (Manga)|Ouran High School Host Club]]'', right down to the glowing pineapple logo.
** The newspaper comic ''[[FoxTrot]]'' does this with the "iFruit" brand, whose computers were originally ''shaped like the fruits they're named after''. At one point, Andy attempts to collect them as she would collect * ahem* "Bitty Babies".
*** Other parodies abound, including "Iron Mysticus," a reference to two separate games. It also had a sequel, "Rivabolo."
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** ''[[Kevin and Kell]]'' has "carrots" whose logo is, of course, a multi-coloured carrot with a bite taken out of it. [[Steve Jobs]] is, consequently, a rabbit.
** Rob in ''[[Get Fuzzy]]'' has a Pear laptop.
** So does Stephan in ''[[Ozy and Millie (Webcomic)|Ozy and Millie]]'', and his thoroughly resembles a tangerine iBook.
** There's another show/film where the brand name on a "pear" computer was plainly visible: [[wikipedia:Bosc Pear|"Bosc."]] Points to the set-dresser who thought that one up.
** Pear computers show up as a running gag in shows produced by Dan Schneider, such as ''Zoey101'' and ''[[I CarlyICarly]]''. The latter expanded the Pear product line with other parodies of Apple products, including the PearPod, the PearPhone, and now the PearPad (which in a further twist, is actually shaped like a pear).
*** "Pear" notebooks show up in an unknown German TV series. In the same show, someone is looking things up on "[[Wikipedia|Realpedia]]".
** Probably the ur- and most famous example predates the iMac by over a decade: the Banana Junior computer from ''[[Bloom County]]'', which became a character unto itself.
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** One episode of ''[[Mega Man NT Warrior]]'' showed Dr. Higgsby using a laptop with a strawberry logo.
** One episode of ''[[Maya and Miguel]]'' featured yet another laptop with a pear icon.
** In one episode of ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia (Manga)|Axis Powers Hetalia]]'', Sealand is excitedly noticing that Iceland is being auctioned off while using a laptop with two cherries as its logo.
* ''[[Grand Theft Auto]] IV'' features advertisements and an in-game website for Fruit Computers, whose logo is a bowl of fruit and released a phone that looks exactly like a banana-shaped iPhone.
** Which (in GTA's usual outragious sense of humor) has an app that can tell if you're pregnant when you [[Hilarious in Hindsight|pee on the phone]].
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== Anime ==
* ''[[Excel Saga (Animeanime)|Excel Saga]]'' had "Across 2000" (a parody of Windows 2000).
* In ''[[Futari wa Pretty Cure]]'', Honoka has applied "PRE-Q BAN" brand adhesive bandages to at least two different people's minor wounds (this is a pun: "Pretty Cure" is sometimes known as simply "purikyua" [pronounced more or less "pre-cue"]).
* [[Death Note (Manga)|L and Light]] apparently both own laptops with bananas on them.
** Don't forget [[Bland-Name Product|Fanasonic]]!
*** Also, if you look real closely, the search engine that Light uses is called "Generic". (It looks an awful lot like Google Image.)
**** L has an obvious iMac in addition to his obvious MacBook, though to me the logo looked more like a twisted-up "I."
* The opening credits of ''[[Princess Nine]]'' include, in what is presumably Koshie stadium, advertisements for "Mitsuhishi", "Sont", and "Ranasonia", in fonts highly reminiscent of the Mitsubishi, Sony, and Panasonic brand-names.
* Fictional fast-food brand "Amigo Tacos" is used as a throwaway name in an early episode of the anime ''[[El Cazador Dede Lala Bruja]]''. The name is brought back several times in later episodes, gaining a logo, official waitress uniform and annoying commercial jingle. Eventually an entire episode is set in an "Amigo Tacos" restaurant.
* ''[[Seto no Hanayome]]'' featured "Ningyonet Explorer", the mermaid web browser.
* ''[[Azumanga Daioh (Manga)|Azumanga Daioh]]'' has Adidas gear -- oh wait, that's ''Abidas''. My mistake.
* ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]]'' introduced the world to Hescafé brand instant coffee and Mational light bulbs.
* In the ''[[Pet Shop of Horrors]]'' anime there's an audition for a movie by Raramount Pictures.
* "WcDonalds", a stand-in for the rather obvious, is a fast-food chain non-specific to any particular anime (the chain has made appearances from [[Inuyasha]] to the American-produced [[Megas XLR]]). Much like the above immediate example, anime "Brand X" brands are often created simply by switching or reversing a letter from their real-world counterparts ("Somy" and "Parasonic" have been known to pop up from time to time in various animes).
** WcDonalds' most recent appearance, as of early August 2008, is in the new [[Rumiko Takahashi]] short anime ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf953nWYSlA It's A Rumic World]'', where it appears in its rarely seen fully spelled out form.
** The upside down golden arches also appear in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 0080 War in The Pocket (Anime)|Mobile Suit Gundam 0080 War in The Pocket]]'', but this time the W stands for "Wonderland Burgers".
** ''[[Zeta Gundam]]'', however, has "McDaniels" hamburgers, complete with clown mascot. Since both of these are Universal Century shows, we have to assume that McDaniels and Wonderland Burger exist in the same universe and are competitors.
** It's even made an appearance in Japanese porn, as an elaborate restaurant set with obsessively detailed uniforms for the young ladies involved to wear (or not wear, as the case may be).
* ''[[Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu]]'' had Haruka excited to get a "PDS" or "Portable Dream Station". The visual representation made it some sort of crossbreed between a PSP and a DS.
* The first ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' anime has Asakura using the "Bagle" search engine.
* In ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei-sensei]],'' the search engine "Qoogle" is used.
* In ''[[Diamond Daydreams]]'' Karin accesses the internet with her "Aivo" laptop.
* Averted in ''[[Kannagi]]''. "[[Gratuitous English|It's a Sony]]", indeed.
* ''[[Minami Ke-ke]]'' has Zamazon, among others.
* ''[[Skip Beat (Manga)|Skip Beat]]'' has a Wos Burger (after Mos Burger, a popular Japanese chain).
* The anime ''[[Prince of Tennis]]'' had the main character drinking Ponta, though in the original manga it was actually Fanta.
* ''[[Gravitation]]'' has Zenny's Restaurant. Like Denny's but more Zen.
* ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]]'' has the fake clothing brand Criminal as well as the Doskoi Panda brand which includes everything from shirts to footballs. Doskoi Panda even has two knockoff brands, Dosko1 Panda and Cyberpanda.
* In the third ''[[Angelique]]'' OVA, there is a product logo that reads as "SQNY" ...but only if you are well-versed in the series' stylistic font which makes you wonder if this was just a dorky [[Easter Egg]].
* ''[[The Sky Crawlers]]'' features such products as Pops-Cola and Treasure soft drinks (with logos that resemble Coca-Cola and Pepsi respectively), Green Label beer and Leopard cars.
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* The U.S. [[Adult Swim]] release of [[Code Geass]] censored out the Pizza Hut logos that were used as [[Product Placement]] in the Japanese version. Online rumor has it that the U.S. branch of Pizza Hut didn't want to continue the product placement because "[[Memetic Mutation|it's a show about terrorism.]]" Cheese-Kun, the Japanese Pizza Hut mascot, was kept uncensored.
* While later installments, such as the ''[[Rebuild of Evangelion|Rebuild]]'' movies, are more likely to use actual product placement, the original ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' series used this all over the place; for instance, Asuka's game console of choice was marked [[Sega|"SECA"]].
* ''[[Chaos ;Head]]'' has the search engine [[Google|Deluoode]] and the online repository [[Wikipedia|Wikipedofilia]]. Umm...
 
 
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** Don't forget the very popular "Beefy Bob's" burger joints, good enough for superheroes on a low-profile date. The city also has an ample supply of "Astro-Mart" convenience stores.
* In Mark Tatulli's comic strip ''[[Heart of the City]]'', the title character often plays with "Karlie and Ben" dolls.
* Almost everything in ''[[Watchmen (Comic Bookcomics)|Watchmen]]'' is created by Veidt Enterprises or some sub-company. Of course, {{spoiler|there is a more sinister reason behind this: the sales of these products help finance Adrian Veidt's plot}}.
* A ''[[Disney Adventures (Magazine)|Disney Adventures]]'' comic involved ''[[Doug]]'' buying a "Brandexx" jacket, which becomes popular for a while until someone else starts wearing "Branday" which then becomes popular at "Brandexx"'s expense.
* Loch Lomond whisky (Captain Haddock's favorite brand) in the ''[[Tintin (Comic Book)]]'' comics. (When ''The Black Island'' was redrawn in color, Loch Lomond replaced what was Johnnie Walker in the black-and-white version.)
* Hilariously parodied in a French comic, ''Contes à dormir debout''. A father is telling an updated version of "[[Aladdin (Literaturenovel)|Aladdin]]" to his daughter:
{{quote| '''Father:''' A package fell off a truck from a famous brand of Swedish furnitures.<br />
'''Daughter:''' "A famous brand of Swedish furnitures"? Are you calling it like that because you can't say any names?<br />
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* [[Roger Ebert]] on ''[[The Lonely Lady]]'':
{{quote| ''Proper nouns are missing from this movie. It seems to exist in a generic alternative universe in which nothing has its own name. The Oscars are known as "these awards" or "the awards." After Pia and her first lover leave a movie, they have this conversation: "I liked him better." "I liked her better." No him or her is identified. This is the kind of conversation that results when a screenplay says, "They leave the theater and briefly discuss the movie," but the screenplay doesn't care what movie they saw.''}}
* [[Two Words: Obvious Trope|Four words]]: [[Army of Darkness|Shop smart. Shop S-Mart.]]
* ''[[Toy Story]]'' couldn't get the rights to blow up an (original) [[G.I. Joe]] action figure, so they used "Combat Carl" instead.
** However, they otherwise avert it: Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Ken, Barbie, Slinky, [[The Cameo|and]] [[My Neighbor Totoro|Totoro]] (I think I may be missing some) were all used with permission of the respective copyright owners, as acknowledged at the end of the credits of each film.
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* ''[[How High]]'' has BUFU<ref>A play on the "FUBU" clothing line</ref> -- "By Us, Fuck You!"
* The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from ''[[Ghostbusters]]'' and ''Ghostbusters: The Video Game'' might count, but he might not.
* ''[[Cloverfield]]'' has the soft drink "Slusho", which was also used in its [[Viral Marketing]] campaign. As a [[Shout-Out]], the bartender in ''[[Star Trek (Filmfilm)|Star Trek]]'' recommends Slusho to Uhura. Both films were directed by JJ Abrams.
* The 2000 remake of ''[[Bedazzled]]'' features the "Diablos" pro basketball team.
* [[Airplane!]] has a flashback with a stand in for Tupperware called Supperware.
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** Likewise in his book "Down and Out in Paris and London", Orwell worked as a dishwasher at the "Hôtel X." This was the Hôtel de Crillon.
* Several in [[Sarah Dessen]]'s novels, including Ume.com (Facebook) and Gas/Gro (7/11 or QT). The Facebook imitator even has a [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]] version of Mark Zuckerberg (i.e. a nerdy guy who started the site in college).
* ''[[Animorphs (Literature)|Animorphs]]'' both averts and invokes this trope. Jake having a Sega game console is mentioned,(though it's just a 'console' in the re-release to help with relevance issues) but there's the fictional internet provider Web Access America, which seems to allude to either America Online,Microsoft, or both.
* [[The Berenstain Bears]] does this with names like E-Bear (for Ebay) and Pawbook (for Facebook).
 
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* ''[[I Bet You Will]]'' (reality show dare on MTV) uses "I Bet You Will" paint, etc.
* When characters on '80s American sitcoms read magazines, the back cover frequently had an ad for "Walt's Wintergreen" gum, which bore a resemblance to Wrigley's Spearmint ads of the time.
* ''[[Lost (TV)|Lost]]'' uses a similar approach with the Dharma Initiative food supplies, with most of the food being in blank white packaging [[Sigil Spam|labeled with the Dharma logo]] and a description of the food inside. (E.g. "DHARMA Ranch Dressing")
** [[Truth in Television]]: in real life, government/military supplies and rations (as well as supplies and rations from some non-profit or school groups) follow this convention (this is actually where ''Lost'' got the idea in the first place) though there are notable exceptions; M&Ms (specifically invented for military rations) and other durable commercially available foods will be supplied in their commercially available packaging.
** Oddly, in the flashbacks and in other aspects of the show, where there is ample chance for product placement, there is none. Hurley, who has a self-confessed food addiction, never eats Brand Name Food. It's always some made up brand. Is this done on purpose? Hmmm...the trees are shaking.
* Virtually all of the products in ''[[The Adventures of Pete and Pete]]'', from Kreb of the Loom underwear to the family's Krebolet, are made by KrebStar.
* Used in ''[[Red Dwarf (TV)|Red Dwarf]],'' in both variations. In the first series, everything on the ship comes in plain grey packaging with just a label. After that, fake brand names are used (such as Leopard Lager).
* And then of course you have Binford tools, the official tools of ''Tool Time'' on ''[[Home Improvement]]''.
** [[Home Improvement]] also did this with some non-tool products in the background, such as "Nickers" and "Runch" candy bars.
** In a clever homage, you can spot a Binford Tools toolbox in ''[[Toy Story]]''.
*** And a rather subtle joke about it in ''[[Freefall (Webcomic)|Freefall]]'', [http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff100/fv00035.htm when Sam is shown] holding a "BinGM" chainsaw.
{{quote| '''Florence''': Beware the happy man with power tools.}}
* The ''[[Chef At Home]]'' seems to be a casualty of this. All of his ingredients are in glass jars, and he refers to them as such.
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** Actually, I live in Kentucky and Faygo brand sodas are easily found around here.
*** It's within the cachement area: Faygo is a [[Motor City|Detroit]]-based brand. This is why it made sense for the characters to drink it on ''[[Freaks and Geeks]]'': the show is set in suburban Detroit, and the stuff is fairly popular in the area (i.e. it's [[Local Color]]).
* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in an episode of ''[[House (TV series)|House]]''. House, {{spoiler|while being hypnotized by Chase}}, expresses his dislike for "'Beer' brand beer" when presented with a row of generic bottles. There are also bottles of "Liquor" brand liquor. (This could be interpreted more as a statement about which details people tend to remember. He didn't care which alcohol it was, so he didn't remember it as a specific brand.)
{{quote| '''House''': There's nothing worse than drinking Beer brand beer.}}
** Of course, he didn't remember much else either, as everybody was a [[The Faceless|faceless]].
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* ''[[Friends]]''. Joey apparently enjoys "Nickers Bars".
** And Ross uses Uberweiss laundry detergent.
* ''[[Firefly (TV)|Firefly]]'' has 'Blue Sun' products just about ''everywhere''. {{spoiler|They might be a bit more significant to the plot than normal examples, though...}}
* ''[[The X-Files (TV)|The X-Files]]'' has the Cigarette Smoking Man, among other characters who smoke, preferring the extremely popular but fictional Morley brand of cigarette. There is even an episode of the show titled ''Brand-X'' featuring the company that makes the cigarettes. Morleys apparently get around, because they are used all over the place in television, even amongst series that have no connection to each other. [[wikipedia:Morley (cigarette)|The Other Wiki]] has a list of them.
* The ''[[Masters of Horror]]'' episode "The Screwfly Solution" had plenty of examples, like "East Coast Airlines" and "Flazzle Cola" (in a red can, no less), and in the shop scenes they make sure to keep the camera zoomed out (though a Budweiser sign comes up in the edge of the shot, so they forgot at least one thing). They also have nameless "Kidney Beans" cans and an internet search engine with no marker at all.
* ''[[Law and& Order (TV)|Law and Order]]'' loves this trope. Probably because many of its episodes are [[Ripped from the Headlines]].
** Though this trope doesn't apply when referring to their bankroller -- for instance, reporters will have NBC branded microphones, with anyone else being with unlikely-numbered news organizations such as Channel 23 or News 46. There was also an interesting exchange during a bust when mobsters were caught flat-footed watching TV:
{{quote| Det. Briscoe: "MSNBC, huh? Your father would've had the game on."}}
** Of course there are two things consistent about the L&O universe; that the equivalent of the ''Post'' is the ''Ledger'' (which was also the paper in the short-lived newsbiz [[Spin-Off]] ''[[Deadline]]''), while the all-encompassing New York University/Columbia University campus is known as Hudson University.
** Averted in the 2010 [[Spin-Off]] ''[[Law and& Order: LA (TV)|Law and Order LA]]'', where Facebook was name-dropped in the very first episode, while in previous episodes of the series generic substitutes like "Youspace" were used in its place.
* Nearly completely averted in ''[[Survivors (TV series)|Survivors]]''. Hung looter in a Netto? Check. Decomposing corpse in McDonald's? Check.
* ''[[Mad Men]]'' spectacularly averts this. Sterling Cooper may be fictional, but they've done stuff or tried to do stuff for (And yes, many of these clients [[Product Placement|paid handsomely to be on the show]]):
** Pampers
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* Odd example on ''[[Peep Show]]'' -- Jeremy refers obliquely to a real-life advert for a popular cold and flu remedy, while Mark is shown pouring said brand into a cup, with the logo obscured... at which point Jeremy offers to "bring your Lemsip in for you". Didn't seem to be a lampshading, or deliberate joke -- just odd.
** It may be that mentioning the semi-genericised Lemsip is acceptable, but that showing Lemsip-brand Lemsip was undue prominence. In some countries, there's a rule against showing a product and mentioning its name at the same time. So there's no problem if they're mentioning Lemsip, they just have to obscure it.
* Yet more BBC, in ''[[The Apprentice (TV series)|The Apprentice]]'' many of the candidates have worked for major companies in the past, but it is described as stuff like "developing markets for a major international coffee company."
* The way they rebranded products on ''Full House'' was amusing (Mountain Do, Shesta Cola, Sarf Color-Safe Bleach, Ail Laundry Detergent, to name but a few).
* In early episodes of the new ''[[Doctor Who]]'' series, Rose tries looking for information about the Doctor on [http://www.search-wise.net/ search-wise.net], a domain name intentionally reserved for use as a Brand X search engine.
** Additionally, Rose works for the fictional department store 'Henricks.'
* In the episode "Doppelgänger" of ''[[NCIS (TV)|NCIS]]'', the case hinged in part on two different brands of cigarettes: Triboros, and Llamas (the latter in a package resembling Camel cigarettes).
* A [[Justified Trope]] within the context of ''[[Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV series)|Sabrina the Teenage Witch]]''. Due to legal reasons, witches cannot conjure up brand name products; trying so only results in [[Brand X]] knock-offs such as "Popsi" and "Butterthumbs".
* On ''[[Community (TV)|Community]]'', an ill-sized oval changed Jeff's laptop's brand from a Sony Vaio, to, apparently, a teapot.
** "Cola", in an orange-red can, also appears numerous times in Community.
* French humorists "les nuls" made a fake ad where X stands for X-rated. Brand X washing powder shows sex positions on its packaging.
* Finder-Spyder is a stand-in for Google in shows such as ''[[CSI]]'', ''[[Dexter]]'', ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' and ''[[Prison Break]]''
* Gannon Car Rentals features in ''[[Lost]]'' and ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]''.
* On ''[[Flash Forward 2009|FlashForward]]'', badges are generally removed from cars -- a common enough practice, but this show is particularly blatant, in that Ford cars have a conspicuous oval gap where the badge was taken out.
* In a variation, when ''[[Life After People]]'' did an episode on food, they specifically address the [[Urban Legend]] that "this cream-filled snack cake" would remain edible for thousands of years. Presumably the makers of Twinkies didn't want their product associated with images of decaying meat or roaches and rats taking over abandoned supermarkets, as the program dutifully avoids naming "this snack cake" or showing its label.
* ''[[Wizards of Waverly Place]]'' has an episode near the start of the second season where a frisbee is referred to as a "plastic flying disk". Possibly a [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshading]], since the phrase is gratuitously awkward compared to several they could have used instead.
* ''[[Spicks and Specks]]'' blurred out the branding of a Mr. Whippy icecream van when it was playing Greensleeves. [[The ABC]] prohibits product placement, but it's been the target of [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshading]] every now and then.
* In this clip of ''[[IveI've Got a Secret]]'', Henry Morgan jokes that Soupy Sales (who is introduced as "Mister X") is [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qq_Mr1txFY the maker of 'Brand X']
* In the US ''[[Queer Asas Folk]]'', Michael Novotny works at <s>K-Mart</s> The Big <s>K</s>Q
* Non-Canadian ''[[Degrassi]]'' viewers can almost make a game out of betting on what's [[Brand X]] and what's [[Product Placement|a real but]] [[Canada, Eh?|Canada-only]] brand.
* ''[[Are You Being Served?]]'' had Grace Brothers, a parodic stand-in for Harrods.
* Starting in Season 2, ''Glee'' introduced a coffee shop, possibly a chain, called the Lima Bean as a date location for Kurt and Blaine. It's both a reference to the place where the show is set (and its correct pronunciation) and a pretty obvious stand-in for Starbucks.
 
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== Video Games ==
* In ''[[Ratchet and Clank|Ratchet: Deadlocked]]'', one of the randomly generated bits of [[Witty Banter]] from announcers Dallas and Juanita explicitly mentions "Brand X Gelatin".
* ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]]: Trials and Tribulations'' used "Coldkiller X" as a brand of medicine for cold.
** Which actually would seem to be a case of [[Xtreme Kool Letterz]], since it was translated from ''Kazegoroshi Z''.
* Thirsty for some Cielo Mist? Or perhaps a One-Up? ''[[Persona 3]]'' has 'em for the low, low cost of 120 yen!
** ''Persona 3'' was ''filled'' with them, Every vending machine had some type of American drink just to show how well Atlus actually translates the games. Some of the most memorable ones were : (Dr. Salt: Salty soda. Popular, but an acquired taste.) (Mad Bull: The most caffeinated drink available.) (Starvicks: Famous coffee, mixed with cough syrup.) (Fountain Dew: A disturbingly yellow soft drink.)
* The painkillers in ''[[Max Payne (Video Gameseries)|Max Payne]]'' are referenced by name in ''Max Payne 2'': "Interfectum 600mg: a serious painkiller for serious pain".
* A truly vast number of freeware games -- especially Japanese games -- open with ripoffs of old video game loading screens. For example, "Kobami" from ''[[La -Mulana]]''.
** However in La-Mulana's case it is actually [[Lampshade Hanging|an intentional parody]].
* The Medic/Assault's first aid box in ''Battlefield 2142'' contains painkillers named "Dicepirin", among other things.
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* ''[[Misfile]]'' has beer bottles and cans labeled "BEER". The author has stated that he doesn't drink and didn't want to depict any particular brand.
* [http://www.danspulpit.com/God_does_not_believe_in_atheists.html This heavily narmed-up comic strip by Dan Nuckols] has a particularly charming example in which a character is seen reading pornography, but the author doesn't care to name the pornographic publication, nor is he comfortable depicting anything remotely suggestive on the cover. The result is a dull brown magazine with "PORN" written on it in big black letters.
* In ''[[The Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|Order of the Stick]]'' strips 6 and 31, the party sees Durkon as a pack of Band-Aids, and a mind flayer sees Elan as a can of Diet Coke. When these were redone in higher resolution for the book ''Dungeon Crawlin' Fools'', Durkon became "Bandages" and Elan became "Diet Cola".
** In strip 711, Haley buys from cosmetics company Aton (A parody of Avon).
* Apparently there is a place on earth where you can buy [http://theworldisyours.smackjeeves.com/comics/1089945/beer-can/ "Beer Can" brand beer].
* In ''[[El Goonish Shive (Webcomic)|El Goonish Shive]]'', the Wii and its balance board make appearances but never by name.
 
 
== Western Animation ==
* ''Adventure Time'' makes use of the "Pear Computer" Brand name in episode: "Hitman".
* "World background" products include Cuckoo Cola from ''[[Darkwing Duck (Animationanimation)|Darkwing Duck]]'' and ''[[Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (Animationanimation)|Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers]]'', Cheesy Poofs from ''[[South Park (Animation)|South Park]]'', Manitoba Brand Cigarettes in ''[[King of the Hill]]'', and [[Acme Products]]. Also "Duff" Beer from ''[[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|The Simpsons]]'', and "Pawtucket Patriot" beer in ''[[Family Guy]]''.
* ''[[Kim Possible]]'' has, in addition to its thinly veiled celebrity archetypes, a slew of in-world brands: Mexican fast-food establishment Bueno Nacho, big-box retailer Smarty-Mart, fashion boutique and clothing line Club Banana, and so forth.
* Just about everything in the 90s Australian cartoon ''[[Lil Elvis Jones and The Truckstoppers]]'' is 'Junk' brand, from cola and a clear Vegemite analogue, to the only television station shown. 'Junk Corporation' just ''happens'' to be owned by the [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] villain, W.C. Moore.
* The makers of the ''[[Over the Hedge (Filmanimation)|Over the Hedge]]'' animated film decided to use only fictional brands (such as "Spuddies" canned potato crisps) for the junk food that was so important to the plot.
* In the world of ''[[Metalocalypse]]'', almost every single store or service is named after a real world extreme metal band, if not after Dethklok itself. Thus, Finntroll Groceries, Dimmu Burger (a pun on Dimmu Borgir), a restaurant called "Burzum's", the Gorgoroth hardware store, etc. etc.
* ''[[Futurama]]'' has Slurm soft drink, which is central to the episode "Fry and the Slurm Factory". Also, Lightspeed Briefs and Mom's Old-Fashioned Robot Oil. It also uses parody brands, such as Admiral Crunch and Archduke Chocula on "The Series Has Landed" and Sonya speakers on "Amazon Women in the Mood".
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** Throughout the series are mentions of a fast food place called [[Mc Meaty]]'s.
** Don't forget Gaz's favorite place Bloaty's Pizza Hog. It's like a negative Chuckie Cheese.
* ''[[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|The Simpsons]]'' has Duff beer and Krusty Burger, among others.
** Both of which, interestingly, became [[Defictionalization|real brands]] during the run of [[The Simpsons Movie (Film)|the movie]] (The Krusty Burgers were rebranded Burger Kings.)
** They [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] this in a conversation between the cop, Lou, and Chief Wiggum which was also a parody of the "royal with cheese" scene in ''[[Pulp Fiction]]''. Lou mentioned eating at a McDonald's in Shelbyville, but Wiggum had never heard of it, despite there being 2000 locations in the state.
** Lampshaded again in a another episode where it turned out Krusty was paying the mob to keep other fast food chains out of Springfield.
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** In a different episode, Lisa yearns for trendy electronic devices from electronics company Mapple, run by Steve Mobs. In the beginning of the episode, she gets a discarded myPod from Krusty.
* "MegaLoMart", a parody of Walmart and to a lesser degree Sams and CostCo, from ''[[King of the Hill]]''.
* The [[DCAU]] uses Soder as its brand of...well, soda. Most prevalent in [[Superman: theThe Animated Series]].
** Not to mention the Flash's "Lightspeed Energy Bars". You get a big boost of flavor in every bite!
* [[Cartoon Network]] has its Whisbees.
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** The most prominent brand name in the series was probably the "Polarock" instant camera ([[Bamboo Technology|a bird inside the camera using its beak to chisel jackhammer-style the "photograph" image into a stone slab in 60 seconds]]).
* ''Pretendo'' seemed to be a common video game console amongst animated characters. It appears in episodes of ''[[Doug]]'' and ''[[Muppet Babies]]''.
* ''[[Family Guy (Animation)|Family Guy]]'' often depicts Chris and Meg eating "Generic Puffs", the decoration on the box being just the brand name on a white background.
** They also tend to bounce around between McBurgertown and [[McDonald's]] whenever they feel like it.
* ''[[The Critic]]'' has "Hair In A Can" and "Phlegm Fatale Cigarettes."
* ''[[The Mighty B]]'''s Honeybees have unusual similarities to The Girl Scouts.
* One episode of ''[[Heathcliff and The Catillac Cats (Animation)|Heathcliff]]'' featured a brand of cat food literally called "Brand X".
* In ''[[Kick Buttowski]]'', the fastest way to internet fame goes through ''Rank of Awesome'' rather than ''[[YouTube]]''. Especially if you use [[Cute Kitten|cats]].
* [[Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner (Animation)|ACME Products]]
* "Generic Cereal" [[Noodle Incident|made Dan's list of enemies]] in ''[[Dan Vs.]]''
* [[SpongebobSpongeBob SquarePants]]: Two Words - CRABBY PATTY
 
 
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