I was sitting at my Office Depot® designer desk, sipping an ice cold Dr. Pepper®, when thanks to Time Warner Cable® I came across this question on the Internet:
“R U paid by apple, or are just a very faithful fan???????????”
For the record, nobody, not even Panda Express®, pays me for product placements. Panda Express® didn’t even offer me a tasty, free orange chicken bowl with steamed rice and tender, delicious vegetables. I don’t seek or accept compensation for product placements. I simply prefer showing real products, just as I prefer using the real names of politicians & celebrities. The only times you’ll see fake products and companies (such as “Gall Mart“) in Candorville are when there’s some real risk of a lawsuit or when I think a fake name is funnier. Kleenex®.
If you've seen "Repo-Man", you'll understand this:
"Feelin' 7-Up, I'm feelin' 7-Up …"
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As for how others handle this, I liked how they did it in Inuyasha where Kagome and her friends always go to "WacDonald's" complete with upside-down arches. 🙂 Sort of like your Gall Mart.
I never quite understood why Cartoonists would go to great lengths to not actually say the name of a company/product. Like… instead of going to McDonalds, they'd go to McDougalls. Instead of Coca Cola, they'd drink Shmoka Shmola or something. Would McDonalds or Coke really care that a lil comic strip is referencing them in a nonnegative way? I wouldn't think so.
Usually they don't, but you never know when they will. Sometimes they do.
Aside from issues of libel, certain usage of brand names and trademarked characters is copyright infringement. If you're going to use someone else's character or logo, for instance, they might not do anything about it. But if they're feeling litigious, you're only safe if you're parodying or reviewing them. And even then, you're only really safe if the parody is based on something that you can prove is true. That's considered "fair use."