REI Gets Free Product Placement In Reese's Hiking Film

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Reese Witherspoon earned a Golden Globe nomination today for her performance in the movie Wild, a film that the New Yorker describes as a meditation on "the renewal of self." It also happens to feature some amazing product placement for REI, which Ad Week reports came at no cost to the brand. In Wild, Witherspoon's character marvels at REI's customer service after getting her Danner boots replaced for free halfway through the hike. REI didn't pay for the mention in the film. Their 100 percent satisfaction guarantee impressed author Cheryl Strayed so much that it made it into her memoir and, in turn, the movie.

Hikers everywhere can buy the same boots that Strayed and Witherspoon wore for Wild. REI is selling the Danner Mountain Light Cascade boots for $299, which feature retro red laces and a sew-on Pacific Crest Trail mile marker patch. Each pair comes in a vintage Danner box, which REI says is "the exact box used in 1995 when Cheryl Strayed set off to hike 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail."
· Brand of the Day: REI's Great Customer Service Hits the Big Screen in Cheryl Strayed's Wild [AdWeek]
· REI's Customer Service Gets The Big Screen Treatment [RetailWire]
· Reese Witherspoon's Big Retail Plans, Revealed [Racked]