Apple Product Placement Pervasive Throughout ‘The Morning Show’: WSJ

According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, Apple product placements are visible for an average of 32 shots per episode in its flagship Apple TV+ drama “The Morning Show.”

“The Morning Show,” starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, looks as if it serves as a secondary vehicle for Apple product placement:

The Morning Show” wastes little time giving Apple screen time. The first scene of the first episode opens with the character of executive producer Chip Black, played by Mark Duplass, sprawled on the floor of his office in the dark, feet away from a Mac computer, when the iPhone next to him lights up with an incoming call. About 20 seconds later, Steve Carell’s soon-to-be-disgraced anchor, Mitch Kessler, is awakened by his iPhone. In total, there are 31 shots of Apple devices in Episode 1, including eight with the company’s logo.

“Apple products are visible in an average of 32 camera shots per episode,” reads the report, “and an Apple logo is visible in roughly one-third of those shots, according to a Wall Street Journal tally from viewing all 10 episodes of the first season. Rival brands are scarce.”



Apple doesn’t pay for product placements, whether in its own productions or others. And people close to “The Morning Show” said that producers weren’t under pressure to include Apple products. Jarrod Moses, chief executive of United Entertainment Group, said this isn’t a surprise: “I went into the show thinking that was a given. I probably would have been shocked if I saw less.”

“In one four-second scene in episode one of the flagship Apple TV+ series, nine Apple products are shown as two characters walk and talk through a newsroom,” continues the report.

While it isn’t necessarily a surprising revelation, it does show that Apple TV+’s worlds can potentially serve as ads for Apple products, painting a world where Apple products are part of everyone’s daily life.