The other night I was watching Knocked Up, and in the movie there are a few references to "Googling" something. For example, in one scene the older daughter is riding in a car and casually says "I Googled murder," while in another scene Leslie Mann's character asks Paul Rudd to "Google" their daughter's symptoms to determine whether she has the chicken pox or a rash. I also recently saw The Bourne Ultimatum, and in one scene Jason Bourne uses Google to search for an agent's name, and later on there is a car chase where the guys in one car are using Google Maps on their dashboard navigation system.

If you haven't seen these movies, I'm sure you nonetheless can think of some examples of Google being the search engine of choice in a movie. While my first example could be chalked up to "Google" being used as a verb to signify searching for information on the web (like saying "Do you have a Kleenex?" when you just want a tissue, regardless of the brand), the Bourne Ultimatum actually shows characters specifically using Google products. Either way, Google is clearly the dominant search engine in movies today. How many films have you seen where a character is searching for something using Yahoo or MSN (I won't even bring up Ask)?

Google's domination got me wondering whether the screenwriters are just defaulting to Google or whether it's deliberate product placement. Whatever the reason, what's to stop Yahoo or MSN from increasing awareness and brand salience by "advertising" in movies? Is it possible for them to arrange some product placement? Why not have Kate Hudson perform a search on Yahoo in her next romantic comedy? Jason Lee can look for something on MSN in the upcoming (shudder) Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. Or, they could go the "blatant movie tie-in" route a la AOL in You've Got Mail or Fed Ex in Castaway (hmmm, both Tom Hanks movies...might be a good idea to contact him, Yahoo and MSN).

Another thing Yahoo or MSN could do is tie into movie promotions. Remember that "Google Pontiac" commercial? What if a preview for a typical action-adventure movie urged viewers to "Go to Yahoo and search for [insert keyword here]," and when they do they're taken to a cool page (something along the lines of the Lost viral content). I think there are several possibilities and options for the #2 and 3 search engines to increase their visibility to the moviegoing audience.

What do you all think? Do you ever notice Google's repeated presence in films? Can Yahoo and MSN do something to change that, even a little?