Peter Burrows and Andy Fixmer, reporting for Businessweek:
Apple has spent decades strengthening its subtle but powerful grip over Hollywood, and unlike many companies, says it never pays for its products to appear on television or in movies. The company’s gadgets were discussed or shown 891 times on TV in 2011, up from 613 in 2009, according to researcher Nielsen (NLSN). In the same year, iDevices appeared in more than 40 percent of the movies that topped the weekly box office, according to Brandchannel, which tracks product appearances. That’s nearly twice the penetration of the next most common brands in Hollywood—Dell (DELL), Chevy (GM), and Ford (F).
The hardware costs associated with giving products to movies or television shows mean next to nothing for Apple’s bottom line. Conversely, the advertising time granted in exchange for only those hardware donations can lead to substantial gains for Apple. That is especially true when the products appear in 40% of top box office movies. The cost versus benefit for Apple is remarkable.