By reviewing the brief history of product placement in Chinese film and television since the reform and opening-up, this paper reveals the evolutionary characteristics of content marketing: the placement model has shifted from "wild product placement" to "autonomous product placement," and the type of placement has gradually evolved from "necessity-based" to "social-based" and "knowledge-based." The so-called "wild product placement" refers to the early stage of Chinese film and television, where after broadcast, the shows unintentionally triggered purchasing behavior among audiences. These phenomena were typically accidental, lacked commercial planning, and their success models were often not replicable. In contrast, "autonomous product placement" refers to the proactive planning and deep integration of marketing by production teams and brand sponsors before broadcast. This transformation reflects the path of China's consumption upgrading and the commercialization of the film and television industry: film and television works are no longer merely content for consumption but have become bridges connecting products, culture, and social scenarios. In the future, the product placement model of Chinese film and television works is likely to continue developing in a direction that emphasizes greater cultural depth and more precise groups of target audiences.

Cai Xie. Resonance as Selling Point: A Multidimensional Examination of the Product Placement in Contemporary Chinese Screen Media. Frontiers in Art Research (2026), Vol. 8, Issue 3: 51-56. https://doi.org/10.25236/FAR.2026.080307.

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