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''POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold'' is a 2011
documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
about
product placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of t ...
, marketing and advertising directed by
Morgan Spurlock Morgan Valentine Spurlock (November 7, 1970 – May 23, 2024) was an American documentary filmmaker, writer, and television producer. He directed 23 films and was the producer of nearly 70 films throughout his career. Spurlock received acclaim f ...
. The premise behind the production is that the documentary itself would be entirely paid for by sponsors, thus being a form of
metacinema Metacinema, also meta-cinema, is a mode of filmmaking in which the film informs the audience that they are watching a work of fiction. Metacinema often references its own production, working against narrative conventions that aim to maintain the a ...
. The film's slogan is "He's not selling out, he's buying in."


Premise

The documentary consists of Spurlock seeking various sponsors for the film, and sharing insights gained in his attempts to secure financing through such efforts. It also highlights a number of sales presentations devised by Spurlock to entice various brands into sponsoring the film. The ultimate goal was for the documentary to be entirely paid for or otherwise furnished by sponsors. It is thus a non-fiction form of
metacinema Metacinema, also meta-cinema, is a mode of filmmaking in which the film informs the audience that they are watching a work of fiction. Metacinema often references its own production, working against narrative conventions that aim to maintain the a ...
in which his documented efforts of financing the film became the film itself.


People appearing in the film

Besides a great number of sponsoring and non-sponsoring corporate figures appearing in the film, others include: *
J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced films such as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' Forever ...
, filmmaker *Peter Bemis of Bemis/Balkind *
Peter Berg Peter Berg (born March 11, 1964) is an American director, producer, writer, and actor. His directorial film works include the black comedy '' Very Bad Things'' (1998), the action comedy '' The Rundown'' (2003), the sports drama '' Friday Night ...
, filmmaker *
Big Boi Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), known professionally as Big Boi, is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Atlanta, he was one half of the Southern hip-hop duo Outkast along with rapper ...
from
Outkast Outkast (sometimes written as OutKast) was an American hip-hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and André 3000 (André Benjamin, formerly known as Dré). Widely regarded as one of the greatest an ...
*
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...
, Professor Emeritus of Linguistics at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
* Bob Garfield, co-host on '' On the Media'' *
Sut Jhally Sut Jhally (born 1955) is a professor of communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, whose work focuses on cultural studies, advertising, media, and consumption. He is the producer of more than 40 documentaries on media literacy t ...
, Professor of Communication,
University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...
*Britt Johnson of mediaplacement *Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino of
Matt & Kim Matt and Kim (sometimes stylized MATT and KIM) are an American Indie rock#Indie electronic, indie electronic duo from Brooklyn, New York City. The group formed in 2004 and consist of Matt Johnson (vocals/keyboards) and Kim Schifino (drums). The ...
*Beth Jones, Ban Brand Manager at Kao Brands Company *
Gilberto Kassab Gilberto Kassab (; born 12 August 1960) is a Brazilian politician and former mayor of São Paulo. His term ended in 2012. A civil engineer and economist, one of the most famous Brazilians of Lebanese descent, Kassab took over from José Serra, a ...
, mayor of
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
,
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
*
Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967), known professionally as Jimmy Kimmel, is an American television host, comedian, writer, voice actor, and producer. He has been the host and executive producer of '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-n ...
and a "live" show of ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...
'' *Richard Kirshenbaum of Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners *
Jon Bond Jon Bond (born 1957) is an advertising executive, author and entrepreneur in New York City. Career In 1987, at the age of 29, Jon Bond co-founded Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners, a New York City advertising agency that pioneered guerilla marketin ...
of Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners *
Damian Kulash Damian Joseph Kulash Jr. (born October 7, 1975) is an American musician. He is the lead singer and guitarist of the American rock band OK Go. Early life and education Kulash was born in Washington D.C. on October 7, 1975. He was raised in the D. ...
of
OK Go OK Go is an American Rock music, rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, now based in Los Angeles, California. The band is composed of Damian Kulash (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar, bass, backing vocalist, v ...
*Rick Kurnit, a lawyer specializing in advertising law * Michael Levine of Levine Communications Office, Inc. *
Martin Lindstrom Martin Lindstrom (Lindstrøm) is a Danish author and ''Time'' magazine Influential 100 Honoree. He has written eight books including '' Small Data: The Tiny Clues that Uncover Huge Trends'', '' Buyology – Truth and Lies About Why We Buy'', ''B ...
of
Buyology ''Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy'' (2008) is a non-fiction book by Martin Lindstrom, in which he analyzes what makes people buy. The author attempts to identify the factors that influence buyers' decisions in a world cluttered with mes ...
Inc. *
Susan Linn Susan Linn is an American writer, psychologist, and ventriloquist. She is the cofounder of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and author of the book ''Consuming Kids''. She is a research associate at Boston Children's Hospital and a lecturer ...
, Author of ''Consuming Kids'' *
Mark Crispin Miller Mark Crispin Miller (born 6 November 1949 ) is a professor of media studies at New York University. He has promoted conspiracy theories about U.S. presidential elections, the September 11 attacks and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as we ...
*Regina Monteiro, Director of Urban Planning, City of
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
,
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
*
Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...
, consumer advocate *
Brett Ratner Brett Ratner (born March 28, 1969) is an American film director and producer. He directed the Rush Hour (film series), ''Rush Hour'' film series, ''The Family Man'', ''Red Dragon (2002 film), Red Dragon'', ''X-Men: The Last Stand'', ''Tower Heist ...
, film director and producer *
L.A. Reid Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer who served as president and CEO of Arista Records from 2000 to 2004, as well as chairman and CEO of the Island Def Jam Mus ...
, music producer formerly of Island Def Jam Music *
Lynda Resnick Lynda Rae Resnick (born 1943) is an American billionaire businesswoman. Resnick is married to Stewart Resnick, who is her business partner with whom they have their holding company The Wonderful Company. Early life Resnick was born Lynda Rae H ...
, owner and chief executive officer of
POM Wonderful POM Wonderful, LLC is a private company which sells an eponymous brand of pomegranate juices, pomegranate arils, and teas. It was founded in 2002 by the billionaire industrial agriculture couple Stewart and Lynda Rae Resnick. POM Wonderful is on ...
*Tony Seiniger of Seiniger Advertising *Stan Sheetz of Sheetz, Inc *
Ben Silverman Benjamin Noah Silverman (born August 15, 1970) is an American media executive. He is the co-CEO and chairman of the entertainment production company Propagate. From 2007–2009, Silverman served as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universa ...
of
Electus Electus was a production company founded by Ben Silverman in 2009. It was financed by IAC. The company had development deals with NBC, ABC, MTV, VH1, Facebook, Yahoo!, and AOL. In 2018, IAC sold Electus to Propagate Content. History and partner ...
and formerly of
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
Entertainment *Brian Steinberg, TV Editor of ''
Advertising Age ''Ad Age'' (known as ''Advertising Age'' until 2017) is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. ''Ad Age'' appears in ...
'' *
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...
, screenwriter/director *
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
*Matt Tupper of
POM Wonderful POM Wonderful, LLC is a private company which sells an eponymous brand of pomegranate juices, pomegranate arils, and teas. It was founded in 2002 by the billionaire industrial agriculture couple Stewart and Lynda Rae Resnick. POM Wonderful is on ...
* David Art Wales of Ministry of Culture marketing consultancy *Robert Weissman of ''
Public Citizen Public Citizen is an American non-profit, Progressivism in the United States, progressive consumer rights advocacy group, and think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1971 by the American activist and lawyer Ralph Nader. Lobbying e ...
'' *Faris Yakob of kbs+p *Lindsay Zaltman of Olson Zaltman Associates


Release

The film premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
in January 2011. In the United States, the film had a
limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...
, opening on April 22, 2011 in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
,
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
,
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, Phoenix, and
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
. The film opened the 2011
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and Jun ...
on April 28, 2011.


Sponsors

Spurlock signed non-
disparagement Disparagement, in United States trademark law, was a statutory cause of action which permitted a party to petition the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to cancel a trademark registration that "may ...
clauses with most of the companies showcased in his film but retained final cut.
POM Wonderful POM Wonderful, LLC is a private company which sells an eponymous brand of pomegranate juices, pomegranate arils, and teas. It was founded in 2002 by the billionaire industrial agriculture couple Stewart and Lynda Rae Resnick. POM Wonderful is on ...
agreed to pay one million dollars for above-the-title billing ("POM Wonderful Presents"), though the full amount was contingent on the film grossing $10 million at the box office, selling a half-million downloads and DVDs, and generating 600 million media impressions. As of 26 August 2011, the film had an estimated gross of approximately US$638,476. Mane 'n Tail is featured prominently in the film, but the film's end titles disclose that they did not pay for the promotion. Instead, Mane 'n Tail provided free products to be used in the production of the film. Many other brands only provided products or contributed to the promotion of the movie. For 60 days, beginning April 27, 2011, the city of
Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona ( ) is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan area, w ...
(home of
Sheetz Sheetz, Inc. is an American chain of convenience stores. Its stores, which are open 24/7 year-round, offer made-to-order fast food, and most include a gas station, while a few locations are full-scale truck stops, offering showers and a laundrom ...
, one of the movie's major sponsors) ceremonially changed its name to "POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Pennsylvania" to help Spurlock promote the film, and received $25,000 for doing so. Other sponsors include: * Amy's Kitchen * The
Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...
Tourism Authority * Ban *
Carrera Sunglasses Carrera is a trademark belonging to Safilo Group S.p.A. that designs and produces sunglasses and sports eyewear. Founded in Austria in 1956, it now operates from Padova, Italy. History Carrera was founded in 1956 in Austria by Wilhelm Anger as ...
* Get It For Free Online *
Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational corporation, multinational hospitality company headquartered in the 150 North Riverside, Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchise ...
*
JetBlue JetBlue Airways Corporation, stylized as jetBlue, is an American major airline headquartered in Long Island City, in Queens, New York City. Primarily a point-to-point carrier, JetBlue's network features six focus cities including its main hub ...
* KDF Car Wraps * Merrell *
Mini The Mini is a very small two-door, four-seat car, produced for four decades over a single generation, with many names and variants, by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors British Leyland and the Rover Group, and finally ...
* Solstice Sunglass Boutique *
Trident A trident (), () is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. As compared to an ordinary spear, the three tines increase the chance that a fish will be struck and decrease the chance that a fish will b ...
*
Carmex Carmex is a brand of lip balm produced by Carma Laboratories, Inc. It is sold in jars, sticks, and squeezable containers. History Carma Laboratories, Inc. began in Wisconsin in the early 1930s, when Alfred Woelbing began experimenting with cre ...
*
MovieTickets.com MovieTickets.com is an online movie ticketing website founded by AMC Theatres and Hollywood.com in 2000; CBS Corporation, Famous Players, and National Amusements all came on board prior to launch; and it is now a subsidiary of Fandango Media. ...
*
Old Navy Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay, San Francisco, Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of t ...
*
Ted Baker Ted Baker is a British clothing brand founded in 1988 in Glasgow, Scotland, which traded in shops under the Ted Baker name until falling into administration in March 2024. It was relaunched online in November 2024. The brand is styled as 'Ted B ...
*
Petland Discounts Petland Discounts was a privately owned chain of pet stores based in Brentwood, New York. The company was founded in 1965 with a store in Glen Oaks, New York. At its peak, Petland Discounts had expanded up to 100 stores and served the states of ...
* Seventh Generation Inc. *
Sheetz Sheetz, Inc. is an American chain of convenience stores. Its stores, which are open 24/7 year-round, offer made-to-order fast food, and most include a gas station, while a few locations are full-scale truck stops, offering showers and a laundrom ...
* Thayers


Music

Spurlock used Brooklyn dance-punk duo
Matt and Kim Matt and Kim (sometimes stylized MATT and KIM) are an American Indie rock#Indie electronic, indie electronic duo from Brooklyn, New York City. The group formed in 2004 and consist of Matt Johnson (vocals/keyboards) and Kim Schifino (drums). The ...
's music as the movie soundtrack and their song "Cameras" from the album ''
Sidewalks A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English, South African English), or footpath (Irish English, Indian English, Australian English, New Zealand English) is a path along the side of a road. Usually constructed of concrete ...
'' for the opening credits. Band members Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino are also interviewed in the film. The film's theme song is called "The Greatest Song I Ever Heard" by the rock band
OK Go OK Go is an American Rock music, rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, now based in Los Angeles, California. The band is composed of Damian Kulash (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar, bass, backing vocalist, v ...
. The song was made available for download on 1 April 2011.
OK Go OK Go is an American Rock music, rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, now based in Los Angeles, California. The band is composed of Damian Kulash (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar, bass, backing vocalist, v ...
performed the song at the film's premiere and at promotions for the film. They also appeared live on ''
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the The Late Late Show (American talk show), ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airi ...
'' performing the song. A soundtrack album was released to digital music stores on April 26, 2011, and on CD August 23, 2011.


Reception

The film received 72% positive reviews from film critics on the review aggregate website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, with an average rating of 6.20 out of 10. The website's critics consensus reads, "''The Greatest Movie Ever Sold'' plays smartly to Spurlock's strengths, and the result is a breezy, albeit not particularly enlightening documentary." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film received a score of 66 out of 100.
Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...
called the film "even more amusing than ''
Super Size Me ''Super Size Me'' is a 2004 American documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003, during which he claimed to consume o ...
''", pointing out that "more than once the movie shows Mr. Spurlock, armed with clever
storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...
s, selling his ideas with an enthusiasm and skill that would put
Don Draper Donald Francis "Don" Draper, born Richard "Dick" Whitman, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the AMC television series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), portrayed by Jon Hamm. At the beginning of the series, Draper is the charismatic yet en ...
of ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...
'' to shame."


References


External links

* * * *
MorganSpurlock.com
{{Morgan Spurlock Sony Pictures Classics films 2011 films 2011 documentary films 2011 independent films American documentary films Films directed by Morgan Spurlock American independent films American self-reflexive films Documentary films about the film industry Documentary films about advertising Stage 6 Films films Films produced by Keith Calder 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language independent films English-language documentary films