French-based artist Pierre Buttin watched every episode of "Sex and the City" and created a nine-minute video that alphabetically catalogs every single brand ever mentioned on the show. The nine-minute video was a labor of love, taking Buttin approximately 60 hours to make. Who says idle hands are the devil's playthings? They may just be the cause of extremely entertaining and alphabetically-inclined videos.
The most mentioned brand on the show was Vogue, coming in at total of 36 times. This makes sense, seeing as the show's protagonist, Carrie Bradshaw, becomes a contributing editor for American Vogue in season four.
Other brand occurrences were more surprising, such as the fact that Post-it was mentioned more times in the show than Prada. Also, who would have guessed that TGI Fridays, mentioned five times over the course of the show, would have made the list at all?
Though this video is extremely entertaining to watch, it also begs the question: Why would anyone take the time to create this? After watching the "Sex and the City" finale, Buttin said that he cried, prompting him to question whether it was right to feel emotional over a piece of content that could also be interpreted as one big commercial. So he set out to make a video that asks: "To what extent is an open heart immune to subtle yet intensive product placement?"
Buttin poses an interesting question, given the fact that product placement has dominated the entertainment industry since its inception. Soap operas got their name because the sponsors and producers of the original serial broadcast were soap manufacturers. The 1946 film "It's a Wonderful Life" featured a prominent copy of National Geographic magazine. And an entire episode of "Friends" was devoted to Rachel's Pottery Barn obsession.
Now with product placement moving beyond movies and television to platforms of self-expression such as Facebook and Twitter, Buttin's rumination on product placement's power over our emotions is especially compelling.
Here is a list of the top 30 brands mentioned in "Sex and the City":
1. Vogue (36)
2. Martini (33)
3. New York Knicks (25)
4. New York Times (24)
5. Yankees (20)
6. Manolo Blahnik (16)
7. Post-it (15)
8. Dolce & Gabbana (15)
9. Prada (14)
10. Chanel (13)
11. Gucci (12)
12. Fendi (11)
13. Rampant Rabbit (10)
14. New Yorker (10)
15. Barneys (10)
16. Tivo (9)
17. Absolut (9)
18. Weight Watchers (8)
19. Ralph Lauren (8)
20. Tiffany's (8)
21. Worldwide Express (7)
22. Versace (7)
23. Birkenstock (6)
24. Starbucks (6)
25. Viagra (5)
26. Tasty Delight (5)
27. TGI Friday's (5)
28. New York magazine (5)
29. Google (5)
30. Big Mac (5)
