I remember seeing some behind-scenes stuff with a 90s TV show -- I think it was Homicide -- where they wandered through the costumes and props, and showed off all the fake logos they used. Shafta soda, and Vista credit cards, and everything. Close enough to the real McCoy that nothing was glaring; but different enough that nobody got to sue (or got paid). I'm relatively OK with the fake McCoy becoming real in cases like that.

Now, the truly inspired product placement is, e.g., the cell phones on The X-Files. The whole show would have fallen apart narratively if not for cell phones, so the brand name gets to set itself up as literally crucial! (N.b. I am sure they actually did this, but they never had actual lines like, "Thank goodness for my Nokia Bleepo 1000!") What would Veronica Mars be without texting and *69 and forwardable voicemails? And Supernatural better be getting big bucks from Sam Colt, to say nothing of that salt company with the little umbrella girl. Possibly also Chevrolet.

If I don't see the logo, I have no idea what the product is

You can't tell a bottle of Red Stripe or a can of Coke without seeing the logo? A Powerbook without seeing the glowing apple on the lid?

However, I think "Pass me a can of Coke on your way back from the fridge." is plenty subtle. People do use brand names in real life.

So, I guess, for me subtle means "not too unrealistically."

You can't tell a bottle of Red Stripe or a can of Coke without seeing the logo? A Powerbook without seeing the glowing apple on the lid?

That was badly worded -- I said "see the logo" when I meant "recognize the brand."

Now, the truly inspired product placement is, e.g., the cell phones on The X-Files. The whole show would have fallen apart narratively if not for cell phones, so the brand name gets to set itself up as literally crucial!

I'm confused. What did they do with the cell phones?

and professional wrestling is scifi, or at least it's fiction and there's gravity involved

Have they even tried to explain why they are showing wrestling?

I don't think so, but since the wrestling money pays for some of the spaceships, I'm not complaining.

OTOH, someone drinking a can of Coke or a bottle of Bud is a lot less -distracting than the mock-ups you sometimes see.

That's just what I was thinking.

However, I think "Pass me a can of Coke on your way back from the fridge." is plenty subtle.

And in the South, you almost always use Coke to refer to soft drinks in general.

One product placement that would work is Jack Bauer's cell phone, the one that never runs out of charge. Also his deodorant.

I'm happy for anything that will keep SciFi afloat, whether it's wrestling or communing with the dead, so that I can keep getting shows like Eureka and BSG. I've just given up on the idea of getting Earth logic from the SciFi PTB.

What did they do with the cell phones?

Call each other. All the time. Moose would go haring off someplace, and the only reason he would live to tell the tale is that the scary bad guys would show up while he was talking on the phone with Squirrell. She would instantly deduce how to rescue him and arrive with the cavalry just in time.

(They also never said hello or goodbye in their calls. It was a thing.)

Call each other.

Oh, well yeah. But I never saw or heard a brand associated with them. I thought you meant they had been? Well beneath my radar if so.

Now that phones are getting more distinctive looking, I can see it. You wouldn't have had to even say the name Razor when they came out. Not sure how well that works beyond those really different looking ones. (Or the beep beep ones that they used on Angel one ep.)

But I don't think you'd have wanted your name associated with the shoe-box size phone XF had in the early years.