A packshot (also pack shot) is a still or moving image of a product, usually including its packaging and labeling, used to portray the product's reputation in advertising on TV. or other media. Its goal is to trigger in-store, on-shelf product recognition.^[1][2] The term packshot also refers to product placement in a movie or television show.^[3] Packshots often dominate television commercials, taking from two to five seconds of a thirty-second commercial.^[4] Forged or leaked packshots for unreleased products have led to controversy or increased interest in the product.^[5][6] Packshots can be a simple photograph of the product on a white background or can entail the use of elaborate props. Products sold as digital downloads, such as software, sometimes have digitally generated packshots when no physical product or packaging exists.^[7][8]

Packshots can be produced either by photographers or by machines.^[9]