(FORTUNE Magazine) – Dr. Evil makes his headquarters a giant Starbucks? Adam Sandler disses Hooters? We all know about product placement in movies--a company pays for flattering shots of its product. But why would these chains cooperate with negative publicity?

Big Daddy and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me miss no opportunity to take potshots at the food-service giants. In Big Daddy, Sandler's character taunts his roommate's girlfriend about the job that put her through medical school, spitting the name like an obscenity: Hooters! Hooters! Hooters! On the other side of the cineplex, Dr. Evil awakes from his cryogenic nap to discover that his dream of taking over the world is being sponsored by Starbucks.

Oddly, neither company seems offended. Sandler's nearly constant denigration of the restaurant chain known as much for titillating jiggle as its spicy Buffalo wings doesn't portray it kindly. But try telling that to Hooters.

"Some might say that [Big Daddy's depiction of Hooters] was disparaging in some way," says Ed Droste, one of the six founders of Hooters Inc., the company that owns the Hooters trademark. "But we're very much tongue-in-cheek; we make fun of ourselves." He has a point: This is an organization that disparages itself as "delightfully tacky, yet unrefined."

Starbucks also dismisses any notion that the mochaccino megachain is getting shagged in Austin Powers. "We thought that the movie treated our size and identity in a humorous way," says George Murphy, vice president of publishing. Pressed on a possible link between Dr. Evil's plan for world domination and Starbucks' own conquering mentality, Murphy jokes, "That's an entirely different plan."

"If you really want to get into specifics," he continues, "we were aligned with [Dr. Evil's assistant] No. 2 because No. 2 always tries to pursue legitimate business interests. And his legitimate business interests always do better than Dr. Evil's nefarious businesses."

Poking fun at breast-centric restaurants and overpriced designer coffee shops seems to be good business. Austin Powers and Big Daddy have become two of the summer's hottest movies; each has already grossed well over $100 million. And neither Starbucks nor Hooters paid for their negative product placements--they merely offered merchandise and permission to use their logos and products.

But Hooters went an extra step. Manhattan store owner Richard Yudenfriend closed the restaurant for the film's final scene. That wasn't much of a sacrifice--the Manhattan store is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. "Certainly we're inclined to be receptive [to Big Daddy] because [the Manhattan store] could use a shot in the arm," says Droste.

Starbucks knows that product placement can work. Murphy says that after the release of You've Got Mail, his company saw an increase in sales of caramel macchiatos, which Meg Ryan's character drinks. But he doesn't expect a similar boost from Dr. Evil's nose dip into a latte. "I think that's due to the fact that fewer people identify with Dr. Evil than with Meg Ryan."

--Alynda Wheat