If I had to pick the most egregious example of product placement ever, I would nominate the scene from Transformers: Age of Extinction, when the entire movie stops to examine the wreckage of a crash involving an alien spaceship and a Bud Light truck. The camera pans across a street littered with Bud Light bottles; then Mark Wahlberg picks one up, cracks it open, and takes a healthy swig. And while he’s shilling beer, there’s a second product placement in the background; just over his shoulder, very much in focus, is a giant Goodyear Tires sign.
The 'Transformers' franchise is a cultural juggernaut with universal appeal. The three live action films released since 2007 have grossed nearly $3 billion. The fourth film, 'Transformers: Age of Extinction,' is on track to become one of 2014's biggest hits...