As if we aren’t inundated with enough advertisements – even at the beach, the dry drone of a bi-plane is followed by a banner – now comes product placements in novels (LA Times Article). Brands of lipstick, brands of cola, brands of T-shirts. Despite the poverty that attends the writing profession, I simply can’t swallow it. Or rather, I wouldn’t want it as a reader, and I wouldn’t want to foist it upon my readers as a writer. For one, the author is not attending to the craft, he/she is attending to their pocketbook. For two, nothing dates your novel faster than name-brands.
