Nothing is sacrosanct any more! Product placement in movies and sitcoms is one thing but actually writing novels tailored around products is quite something else. Considering it is a famous author like Fay Weldon that had done this, I am surprised I had not heard about this before!
Have product placement deals ever found their way into novels?
In 2001, literary types were shocked to discover that author Fay Weldon’s latest novel, The Bulgari Connection, had more than just a titular connection to the jewelry manufacturer. Bulgari had, in fact, paid Weldon to write it. That explains the dozens of sensual descriptions of their products found within (“it was a sleek modern piece … the mount following the irregular contours of the thin worn bronze”), but not why a respectable, Booker prize-nominated writer would accept such a payoff. In her defense, a defiant Weldon said, “I don’t care. They never give me the Booker prize anyway!” Having earned so much critical condemnation, she’s unlikely to get one now.
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