Just in case you haven’t heard, the 2 disc limited edition of Evangelion: 1.01 You are (not) alone is the best selling dvd of 2008 in Japan (the dvd is now entirely sold out, grab one on Ebay if you want) so far, with more than 219, 000 units sold. Now that is some astonishingly solid sales performance, ( considering that EV 1.0, technically speaking, is simply a spruced up reissue of the decade old animation ) a clear testament to the bankability of the Evangelion brand – and hence the more than numerous product placements in the film.

Can’t be more discreet than that. Both the Doritos chips and UCC canned coffee were released about 1-2 months before the theatrical release of EV 1.0. Read this older post here.

And what’s product placement without some screen time for booze ? The Japanese so love their beer.

Now even the convenience stalls want in. Lawson has a ubiquitous presence in Japan.

There’s more of course; (I’m pretty sure Pizza Hut appeared in the film somewhere) but these are probably the highlights.

Product placement in anime films hold a somewhat special interest for me as I worked on Nissin’s Freedom, which is basically one big advertisement for noodles actually. With Evangelion: 2.0 set for release in a couple of months, the advertising frenzy will soon begin. We just have to wait and see if there are any new players this time round.

Guesses, anyone ?