Product Placement

I have a minor beef with some of the books I've read lately.

For years we have been treated to obvious product placement in movies. Wayne & Garth do a great job of spoofing this in Wayne's World. Lately I've notice that popular authors are getting into the game. Maybe they've been there all along, but now I am seeing it.

The Mercedes R350 makes a grand appearance in James Patterson's book Cross. The car is a cross between a minivan and a station wagon. How do I know this? Because Mr. Patterson spells it out for you in the book. I got to the point where I was tired of hearing about the damn car.

Some other authors are not so obvious about the products they seem to be pushing. Vince Flynn make a brief mention of the FN 5.7 pistol in his latest book. It was placed at the beginning and is an obscure enough gun that many of his readers will be curious and look it up on the web. How do I know? 'Cause I did just that, I looked it up. Mr. Flynn's mention of the product seems considerably more innocent than Patterson's promotion of the car but it is still there and not real key to the story.

In a day where everything has advertising you'd think there would be a safe place but there isn't. From stadiums to races and sporting events being named after some large corporation to meals at fast food places promoting the latest movie we are inundated with advertising. I guess I'll have to suck it up and live with it. I just wish I didn't have to.