Top 10 Music Videos with the Worst Product Placement 

 Talk about “meta”. Not only does the Nokia Lumia appear a lot in this video, the video was actually shot entirely using, you guessed it, a Nokia Lumia. So many layers… We’ve come to expect product placement from videos for flashy pop songs butthe thing that makes this particular case so hard to watch is that the song itself is a sweet and dreamy love ballad. The video shows a couple spending a day playing some version of truth or dare where they tape everything using the Nokia phone. Clearly, their fun adventures (and quite possibly their entire relationship) are only made possible by the fine folks at Nokia. Nothing says “I love you” like corporate funding!
 
 

Alright, you convinced us. We want a Volvo. No. We NEED a Volvo. How else will we go on breathtaking Scandinavian adventures? This video feels a lot more like a short film than a typical music video, and features electronic supergroup Swedish House Mafia in the starring roles. Like many of the videos on this list, “Leave the World Behind” blurs the line between artsy commercial and actual music video. But it’s so much more than the sum of its parts. In the end, commercial ormusic video, it’s a stunning result - a beautifully shot homage to Sweden that will make you want to hop on a plane and well...leave the world behind. In a Volvo!
 

Cut them some slack! This video might be overflowing with product placement, but up and coming artists like J-Lo and Pitbull have to find creative ways to make ends meet in these trying times. You really can’t blame them for wanting to get a little extra cash. This song is a party anthem and the video hawks assorted luxury products, all fitting with the “YOLO” theme. Swarovski? Check. Beluga vodka? Check! Ice Watches? Check! Oh and Nokia phones, naturally. This is exactly thetype of music video where you expect to see artists popping bottles and flashing jewelry, so we’re not that surprised. At leastthe Ice-Watches fit a little more organically than in No Doubt’s “Settle Down”.
 

Who wouldn’t join Tinder if they knew there was a chance that Hilary Duff would swipe right on their photo? Whether this is art imitating life, or life imitating art, is a mystery to us, but basically the video features Duff’s dance sequences interspersedwith what seems like hidden camera footage of her going on real Tinder dates. How else is a pop princess going to meet a nice guy in this modern technological age? In the video for “Sparks”, Hilary Duff shows she’s just like any other young woman, looking for a match who’s cute and likes Sriracha.


Before they partnered with Swedish automaker Volvo, Swedish House Mafia made a similar deal with another Scandinavian export: Absolut Vodka. The beverage itself doesn’t feature heavily in this video, appearing in only a couple of quick shots. That is, until the action of the video ends and the final shot is, inexplicably, a bottle of Absolut on a tray in the desert, making you feel like maybe you were watching a vodka commercial all along but were somehow tricked into thinking it was an electronic music video. Considering “Greyhound” was launched alongside an ad campaign for Absolut that featured images from the video, it’s clear that this was more than just your standard product placement. 
 

It's hard not to hold it against Britney. Brit-Brit has actually put out some pretty solid songs in her later career, especially onthe electropop influenced album, Femme Fatale which features the infectious “Hold It Against Me”. Sony is the most prominent brand name in the video, which makes sense as Spears was signed to Sony Music Entertainment. The director clearly went for the “we’re selling out and not ashamed to show it” approach, giving clear attention to Britney’s “Make Up Forever” eyeshadow, and her Radiance perfume. Then Britney gave us “Work B**ch” in 2013, featuring Lamborghini and Beats Pill product placement. Oops... she did it again.
 

Samsung mobile had their work cut out for them after Drake dropped “Hotline Bling”, which ended up being the most talked-about music video of 2015 and happened to feature the rapper holding not one but two iPhones. How could the South Korean conglomerate compete? Getting Ariana Grande to feature the Galaxy Note 5 in her video for Focus was a valiant effort but it admittedly came off as a bit heavy-handed. It seems like the lyrics “focus on me” are clearly about the phone, and not so much the singer. Also, is it a coincidence that Grande and her dancers appear in “galaxy” inspired outfits for a portion of the video? We think not. 
 

They may seem like unlikely collaborators, but Swedish DJ Avicii and American fashion mainstay Ralph Lauren team up forthe electronic artist’s video for his hit song “Wake Me Up”. This video is among the most viewed YouTube music videos of all time so clearly they did something right! Ralph Lauren’s Denim & Supply line is front and center in this video about two sisters (or a mother and daughter, it’s... unclear) whose trendy clothing makes them outcasts in their backwater town. Outcasts they may be, but what better way to put the focus on their gorgeous denim outfits? Luckily, a nearby semi-apocalyptic city is home to other fashionable people and the girls are saved.
  

Dare you not to cringe while watching this video. Product placement aside, there are a lot of things to take issue with here. Just try to imagine the marketing meeting where this concept was conceived. CG apes? Great idea! Choreographed jungle dance party? Amazing! They play instruments? Fantastic! But wait, I feel like they also need to be singing the lyrics… Oh they’re doing that too? Splendid! It’s bad enough without product placement, but the apes’ initial discovery of a Beats speaker, in an awkward parody of “the dawn of man”, seems to be the catalyst for all the antics that follow. Beats, we hold you responsible for temporarily robbing a once respected band of their dignity...
 
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
 
“The Time (Dirty Bit)” (2010)
The Black Eyed Peas
 
“I’m a Freak” (2014)
Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull
 
“We Can’t Stop” (2013)
Miley Cyrus 
 

Is there anything less rock n roll than the intro to this video? The intention here may have been over-the-top irony, with Avril blatantly name-dropping Sony in the first 10 seconds, but considering the effort Lavigne has put into marketing her personal brand over the last few years, nothing feels ironic about this product placement. “Wait, the Sony Xperia can be completely submerged in water and still work? That’s actually pretty amaz”- NO! We will not be sucked in by that demonstration, no matter how impressive. The only saving grace here is that the phone only appears in the intro, with the rest of the video remaining refreshingly ad-free. Nonetheless, those first few seconds are pretty damaging, and this isn’t by any means Avril’s first offence.
 
Do you agree with our list? Can you think of any music videos with worse product placement? For more marketable top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.