Maybe it's appropriate for a movie based on a cartoon based on a line of action figures, but the live-action version of Transformers is shaping up to be the most product-placement-crammed Hollywood production since, well, Michael Bay's last flick. The noted brand-o-phile re-imagines the "robots in disguise" franchise's mythology in a way that provides convenient opportunities to plug Hasbro toys, General Motors cars, and all manner of consumer electronics.

According to a source who worked on the film, which opens in July, Transformers begins with a sequence set in the 19th century, in which Antarctic explorers discover Megatron, leader of the evil-robot army the Decepticons, frozen in the ice. The discovery provides the basis of all modern technology, leading to a bit of exposition in which such devices as the iPod and the Xbox 360 (both available at your local Best Buy!) are shown to be descended from Transformers.

In another commerce-driven compromise, the main cars featured in the movie will all be GM brands—Chevrolet, Pontiac, Hummer, and GMC. (Ad Age reported the deal with GM last October.) The fanboy set is particularly exercised about the conversion of good-guy robot Bumblebee from an iconic Volkswagen Beetle into a Camaro.

Among big-name directors, Bay has been one of the most aggressive about integrating paid advertising into plotlines. His last film, 2005's The Island, featured characters wearing Puma sneakers, playing games on the Xbox, and guzzling Aquafina water. But while Transformers is essentially a full-length commercial for its titular toys, it does contain one hint that Bay has a sense of humor, if not actual shame, about his brand whorishness. According to the on-set source, among the many scenes in which Hasbro products feature is a sequence showing the fiery destruction of a truckload of Furbies.