Hasta La Creative!

It’s still not always clear whether marketers pay for their roles in entertainment, but movies and TV have made good use of big brands in the 10 years since “Madison & Vine” was published. And most of the brands here definitely paid. In chronological order:

1. AT&T, “American Idol,” 2002-2013. The longstanding partnership, which AT&T called off ahead of the show’s 13th season this year, was a defining cultural moment, according to Mitch Kanner, founder of Two Degrees Ventures. AT&T’s role in the show came when viewers were asked to vote on the singing contestants. “It taught America how to text,” Mr. Kanner said.

2. Pontiac, “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” 2004. The queen of talk shocked viewers when she gave all 276 audience members a Pontiac G-6 to mark the premiere of the show’s 13th season. The story crackled across the media, with “Saturday Night Live” spoofing Oprah’s emphatic, “Everybody gets a car! Everybody gets a car!” Pontiac donated the vehicles and paid the sales tax. Mark-Hans Richer, who is now Harley Davidson CMO (see No. 5), helped engineer the promotion when he was an executive at GM.

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