Two charts that show how artists like Jay Z reacted to Cristal’s hip-hop snub

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There's a great infographic from Vanity Fair floating around – charting the favoured brands of the hip-hop artist Jay Z.

 

We've all become used to product placement deals in entertainment more widely, but whether Jay Z mentions these labels out of adoration or financial incentive will have to be a matter for speculation.

In 2005 Businessweek's David Kiley noted that placement deals in hip-hop rely on people not knowing they're happening. When the team behind a McDonald's placement pitch leaked the story to Advertising Age the deal couldn't get off the ground.

But Vanity Fair does highlight that Jay Z has changed his tastes off of things other than commercial deals – When the managing director of Cristal producer Louis Roederer snubbed the hip-hop community, Jay Z launched a boycott along with other artists.

Frederic Rouzaud told the the Economist that while the company "can't forbid people from buying it [Cristal]. I'm sure Dom Perignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business".

Despite that boycott Cristal still gets more mentions in rap lyrics than Rouzaud's suggested alternatives – although Moet passed the famous bubbly's popularity in 2011.

The new rappers' favourite – Moscato – is now on the ascent. Having been dropped in the lyrics of stars such as Lil' Kim, Kanye West and Drake the Piedmont white may soon pass other drinks labels as the most popular in verse of 2013.