Whip-Lash.

Whip It is Drew Barrymore's directorial debut movie that is running in its third week on the big screen. Whip It is a dramatic comedy that stars Juno's Ellen Page and a multitude of other actors such as Julliette Lewis, Marcia Gay Harden, Daniel Stern, Andrew Wilson (yes, Owen and Luke's brother) and even musician Landon Pigg. Page's character Bliss Cavendar is a Texas pageant girl from Bodeen who is trying to find herself and her passion. She discovers roller derby and falls completely in love with both the sport and the boy, all while trading in her mother's crown for her own desires. It is funny, sensitive and inspiring. For the Austin, Texas fan there are plenty of references and street shots that will make you crave a pie from Homeslice Pizza or the good vintage shopping on South Congress.

While the movie in itself did not disappoint, it wasn't the scenes of Austin that caught my attention most, but a discreet product "placement" that was as smart as the story line. (I do advertising - I can't help it) You might think that makeup has no place in the arena of roller derby but it is very obvious that the darker the makeup the better. Something about it gives the players just enough mix of toughness and femininity. The "Hurl Scouts" team informs Bliss that "you can't ever have too much eyeliner, or too much LashBlast." Yep, that's right, LashBlast - CoverGirl's burnt orange stick of eyelash magic. Their recent advertisements boast that over 6 million women have tried the mascara and that it is the biggest product launch ever of its kind. Pretty impressive, but it takes an even more aware consumer to know that Drew Barrymore just happens to be the face of this product and with just a quick flash of the orange tube and no CoverGirl logo in the movie, you'll know just what LashBlast is.

Maybe it is because I love makeup, Drew Barrymore AND LashBlast that I was so impressed with this quick yet effective (to me) product placement, but regardless, I knew enough of the puzzle to think it clever. Whether or not the director did this as a favor to her CoverGirl counterpart, or whether the company paid for the placement, it doesn't change the fact that it gives a lot of trust to the viewer. Trust that they know the brand well enough to recognize the name and tube without obvious interaction on screen. You quickly see the orange tube and a one stroke application. That is something that most brands are not willing to do - trust the consumer. For those consumers that do notice the product and end up loving the movie as much as I did, it just gives the product a genuine sense of cool. For CoverGirl to trust that their consumers would be fans of Drew Barrymore's work and know her well enough to know she is a CoverGirl is unique to the brand. This placement not only worked for the movie but it worked for the brand.

I can think of a million product placements that absolutely fail because they are too obvious and my eyes literally trip over them on screen. One movie that comes to mind is Sex & the City: The Movie. C'mon girls, you know which scene I am talking about. No, it isn't the one where Louise gets her Louis Vuitton or where Carrie puts her cerulean Manolo's on the closet shelf - but the most obvious placement is vitaminwater mysteriously showing up on the seats of Fashion Week. It annoys the hell out of me because it is entirely random in the scene, yet you can't miss it as each of the girls is surrounded by bottles. It is placements like these that feel so forced that you lose a bit of faith in the brand's decisions. Sure, the brand jumped on the SATC bandwagon when they created the flavors XXX and Rescue with the famous New York skyline in the background of the bottle labels, but when they made their appearance in the movie it wasn't so slick. This is not vitaminwater's first offense. They also appeared in obnoxious form during an episode of the new 90210 last season. As consumers, we know that vitaminwater is a fast growing, trendy brand that celebrities and athletes alike are proud to endorse, but it doesn't need to be so obvious. Have some faith in your water to speak for itself.

The true test of a brand's confidence is when they show up in an unexpected place that makes complete sense and ever so slightly combine the brand with the medium so that consumers just get it. It isn't about forcing brand logos next to the movie's main character, or having huge branded coolers show up on the campus of TV's richest high school, but it is in the "I don't care if you get this or not" (because they know the consumers that matter will) attitude for product placement that just completely wins my heart.

This placement was so good I almost got whip-lash...