Wine in the Wild
Smallville - "Charade"
Season 9, Episode 18 - Aired 23 Apr 2010
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As TiVo and other DVRs make their way into every household, television producers are struggling to find ways to pay for their expensive dramas and sitcoms. When watching a show that's been recorded people generally fast forward through the ads, and ad execs know this - thus fewer advertisers are willing to cough up the big bucks to pay for their 30 second spot.
To combat this loss of ad revenue, more shows are using intense product placements - not only do we get a nice shot of a specific product, but the actors are now being paid to specifically mention and interact with the products in the scene. Are the writers and actors selling out? Sure. They all have to make a living. In this age of increased product placement it can be difficult to know what items are paid for and which are used because the writer/producer/director/set-design team decided they further the plot.
Smallville takes all of the guesswork out of this for us in their choice of wine in the recent episode, "Charade." Clark Kent (Tom Welling) sets up a romantic dinner for Lois on the roof, complete with candles, a rose and a bottle of wine. Rather than pander to a specific winery and take their money, we get a nice clear shot of the bottle: Chateau Vin Rouge Cabernet Sauvignon. Chateau is a French term for a winery and Vin Rouge simply means Red Wine - this is a generic label created for the show, and not a product that exists anywhere.
But seriously, Superman - the MAN OF freaking STEEL - buys some wine for his lady and goes with generic, made-up plonk? That just doesn't seem right. Maybe the Chateau Vin Rouge is really like Clark Kent, and under that flimsy disguise of a label is a Superwine: 1982 Chateau Latour...
Unfortunately they never pop the cork in the scene, so we are left to wonder at Superman's abilities to choose a good bottle for Lois.
