Product placement

Product placement
File:Ando hand out.jpg Ando puts out his hand -- as if to ask for payment -- while a Nissan Versa sits the foreground and Greyhound buses lie the background.
First reference:	One Giant Leap
"Product placement" on Wikipedia

Product placement is a promotional tactic used by marketers in which a real commercial product is used in fictional or non-fictional media, and the presence of the product is a result of an economic exchange. When featuring a product is not part of an economic exchange, it is called a product plug. Product placement also occurs with the inclusion of a brand's logo, or a favorable mention or appearance of a product.

Some real-world products have appeared in the fictional world of Heroes.

Product Appearances by Episode

One Giant Leap

• Ando watches lasvegasniki.com on his iPod.
• At the car rental kiosk in the Los Angeles International Airport, Hiro specifically requests a Nissan Versa and will accept no other vehicle.

Hiros

• After getting a ride back to Las Vegas with Nathan, Hiro finds the Nissan Versa, parked in a garage. Later the Versa is seen again when Ando joins him.

Better Halves

• Hiro and Ando prepare to leave Las Vegas in their Versa when the high roller makes them an offer they can't refuse.

Nothing to Hide

• In Utah, Hiro and Ando stop the Versa at the site of a traffic accident.
• Lyle Bennet hides from Claire and Zach inside the Bennet Family Nissan Armada SUV.

Homecoming

• Micah is found waiting near a Greyhound Bus.

Six Months Ago

• Greyhound buses are seen in the background as Hiro and Charlie discuss attending the Japanese film festival 300 miles away.

Fallout

• Peter drinks from an Arrowhead water bottle while being interrogated by Matt Parkman and Audrey Hanson. Behind them, more bottles sit conspicuously on a table.
• Hiro and Ando reach the Union Wells High School in their Nissan Versa. They stand right next to a car, presumably the Nissan, when Isaac calls and tells them they need to meet.
• Isaac disembarks from a Greyhond Bus in Midland.

Godsend

• Hiro mentions the Nissan Versa to Simone while explaining his role in the 9th Wonders! comic books.

The Fix

• Hiro and Ando go to retrieve their Nissan Versa from a parking garage in New York.

Distractions

• Zach and Claire use a Quest minivan to meet Claire's birth mother in Kermit, TX.

Unexpected

• Mohinder drives a Nissan Sentra rental car in to meet Dale Smither in Bozeman, Montana.
• Dale, an evolved human with enhanced hearing owns an iPod Nano which is used to drown out other sounds. The iPod lies in puddle of blood after Sylar kills Dale.
• Ando drives Hope to Primm, NV, in the Nissan Versa. Hope uses the car as a shield during a shootout with Steve Gustavson. After the shootout, Hiro notes that the car doesn't have a scratch.
• Hiro and Ando hide in the luggage compartment of a Greyhound bus during the gunfight, which also takes place at a Greyhound bus depot. Later, Hiro boards a Greyhound bus headed for Las Vegas.

Company Man

• The Bennet family returns from the hospital in their Nissan Armada SUV. Later, Mr. Bennet and Claire ride in the SUV to meet the Haitian.
• A ten-year-old Hiro plays a Game Boy.

Parasite

• Mohinder uses a Dell laptop in his father's apartment.
• Hiro uses a Dell computer to search for the sword in Linderman's collection.
• The FBI use Dell laptops while surveiling Mr. Linderman.
• Micah and Jessica play a game called Heavenly Sword on the PlayStation 3.

Graphic Novel:Family Man

• Mr. Bennet uses a Visa to pay for coffee at an Odessa coffee shop.

Primatechpaper.com

• A red Nissan Sentra is parked outside of Primatech Paper on their website's About Us page.

Companies and Products

Apple

Ando owns a video iPod. An Apple iPod Nano is used by Dale, an evolved human with enhanced hearing. The trademark clickwheel and infamous white earbuds are displayed prominently. In addition a free download of the Heroes pilot can be obtained from Apple's iTunes.

Arrowhead bottled water

Arrowhead water bottles sit conspicuously, labels to the viewer in a room which contains only two tables, Peter, and the bottles themselves. When Peter takes a sip, the label is perfectly angled so the logo displayed prominently.

Dell Computer

Dell logos are seen prominently in Parasite -- on Mohinder's laptop, the FBI Agent's computers, and in Linderman's archives. Mohinder's laptop had been seen previously but the logo was covered with gaffer's tape.

Greyhound Bus Lines

Greyhound buses have been featured prominently in numerous episodes. Two characters have ridden on the company's buses, and the Greyhound logo has been seen filling the entire frame.

Nissan

Nissan is a primary acknowledged sponsor of the Heroes franchise, sponsoring the broadcast episodes, graphic novels, a free iTunes download of the pilot, as well as Heroes 360. In addition to product placement, they also use traditional and more obvious advertising methods such as television commericials and print ads placed in the beginning of each graphic novel.

Many of the vehicles seen on screen in Heroes are manufactured by Nissan. The Nissan Versa is identified by name and featured prominently in numerous episodes. The name of the car is also seen printed on the screen whenever Hiro or Ando mention the car while speaking Japanese. Mr. Bennet drives a sparkling Nissan Armada SUV through curvy mountain roads, and the name badge is prominently displayed in Company Man.

Sony PlayStation 3

Niki and Micah play the soon to be released video game Heavenly Sword on their Sony PlayStation 3. Images of the game briefly take up the entire screen.

Visa

The Visa card Mr. Bennet uses to buy coffee is prominently displayed. The card splits the panel in half and is accompanied by free coffee and joyous coffee shop patrons.

Notes

• Emerson, makers of the InSinkErator brand in-sink garbage disposal sued NBC for the use of their clearly branded product during a scene where Claire's hand is badly mangled after she places it in a running garbage disposal (Genesis). Emerson claimed NBC misrepresented any risks or potential injuries posed by the InSinkErator on the show, while portraying the brand "in an unsavory light, irreparably tarnishing the product." The company settled with NBC out of court on Feb 23, 2007. [1]

Gallery

• 
  Ando watches Niki on his iPod.
  (One Giant Leap)
• 
  Hiro's Versa rental car awaits him outside LAX airport.
  (One Giant Leap)
• 
  D.L. finds Micah waiting near a Greyhound Bus.
  (Homecoming)
• 
  Peter drinks from an Arrowhead water bottle.
  (Fallout)
• 
  A Greyhound logo fills the frame.
  (Fallout)
• 
  Zach drives a Quest minivan.
  (Distractions)
• 
  Mohinder drives a Nissan rental car while in Bozeman, Montana.
  (Unexpected)
• 
  Dale's iPod lies in a puddle of blood.
  (Unexpected)
• 
  Hiro and Ando walk past some Greyhound buses on the way to their Versa.
  (Unexpected)
• 
  Mr. Bennet drives his Nissan Armada to the bridge.
  (Company Man)
• 
  The Nissan Armada approaches the bridge.
  (Company Man)
• 
  Hiro uses a Dell computer.
  (Parasite)
• 
  FBI Agents Quesada and Alonzo use a Dell in their surveillance.
  (Parasite)
• 
  Mohinder's laptop is also a Dell.
  (Parasite)
• 
  Micah and Niki play a game on the PlayStation 3.
  (Parasite)
• 
  Heavenly Sword, a video game that Niki and Micah play.
  (Parasite)
• 
  Mr. Bennet buys coffee for the masses at an Odessa coffee shop.

External Links

• Apple -- iPod
• Arrowhead Brand Mountain Spring Water
• Dell Inc.
• Greyhound Bus Line
• Nissan
• PlayStation Global
• Visa