Writing for brandchannel ("Product Placement In 2009 Oscar-Nominated Films: An Approval Matrix",
here), Abe Sauer comes up with this a-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words diagrammatic representation of the fluctuating fortunes of those brands whose strategic product placement in Oscar-nominated movies was designed to provide market-positive exposure to the right sort of consumer. What it would be good to know next is how much was paid for each brand cameo and what sort of return one might expect on one's investment in product placement in even the more successful of the year's films.