The supporting actor wore radials

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The stars are coming out in movies scheduled for release later this year: Angelina Jolie in Wanted, Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Christian Bale as Batman in The Dark Knight, the Dodge Caravan in Soccer Mom.

The movie Soccer Mom, due in September, will feature the 2008 Dodge Caravan in various scenes as a result of an agreement involving the Dodge division of Chrysler; its media agency, PHD, part of the Omnicom Group; the Meredith Corp, the publisher of magazines like Ladies’ Home Journal; and Bogner Entertainment, the producer of the film.

“This is a neat way we can target the consumer we want to speak to,” said Mike Accavitti, director for marketing of the Dodge brand and the SRT performance line of cars at Chrysler. “The beauty of this practice is that it allows the consumer to see the Dodge Caravan in everyday life, as they’d use it,” Accavitti said. The minivan is getting “a great supporting role” in Soccer Mom, he added, “one that’s credible.”

“Yes, Ladies’ Home Journal is presenting and Dodge has a major role in the film,” said Fritz Weiss, director for marketing and promotions at Bogner Entertainment in Los Angeles, “but we’re producing a story the Ladies’ Home Journal consumer will want to watch.”

To that end, he added, “We are organically integrating the Dodge Caravan into the plot. There’s a balance you have to reach,” Weiss said, where the product or brand inclusions still “make sense for the story.”

“It’s believable this family would be driving a Dodge minivan,” he said, but making the movie resemble an infomercial “is not good for anybody.”

So while the characters in Soccer Mom may be seen using a new feature of the Caravan called Swivel and Go seating, Accavitti said, “it’s not over the top, it’s not, ‘Look at this great Swivel and Go feature with stain-resistant fabric on the seats.’”