Letters from North
America
I
just finished reading a
new novel from one of my
favorite authors. After
I finished I noticed
something that I had not
seen before, I think its
called product
placement. For the first
time that I can
remember, the author
keeps dropping product
names as well as places
such as favorite
restaurants into the
book. He mentions hotel,
cigarettes, airlines,
restaurants as well as
clothing brands. I know
this is a common
practice in television
as well as movies since
I have a friend who used
to make a living doing
this. I guess it was
just a matter of time
before the practices
spilled over into the
literary field.
I was curious as to how
this worked and so I
called my friend and
asked him how anyone got
paid for this. He told
me that the
manufacturers of brand
products often paid big
bucks just to get their
name mentioned in any
form of media, whether
it was a movie,
television, newspapers
or whatever. If they
didn’t actually pay in
hard cash, they would
often send the author or
producer a sample of
their product or a
year’s supply as a token
of their good will.
I’ve written this column
for over twenty five
years and I cannot think
I have ever been so
desperate as to stoop
this low and try
anything such as this.
In my mind this totally
destroys the concept of
non biased journalism
and column writing. I do
not see how anyone who
does this could possibly
live with themselves.
Imagine getting paid to
actually endorse some
product or service
through the use of a
written column that is
read by thousands of
people each week. How
crass.
While I was sitting at
my desk drinking the
rest of my delicious ice
cold Coca Cola, I
suddenly realized that I
hadn’t picked up the
mail in a few days. So,
I grabbed an old Ralph
Lauren Polo shirt that
was hanging on the door
and rushed out to my car
and headed off to the
post office. The day was
wonderful and I decided
to let the top down on
my Lexus convertible and
enjoy the weather while
I still could. Summer
would be upon me before
I knew it.
As I passed the local
McDonald’s I remembered
that we had not had
lunch so I turned back
around (this car drives
so smooth) and ordered a
couple of things for my
wife and myself. I
started to get one of
their new coffee drinks,
but decided to wait
until tomorrow as I
wanted to grab a copy of
our local paper at the
Starbucks on the way
back home. I almost
passed Home Depot before
I thought about their
plant sale and rushed to
buy a couple of my
favorite rose bushes.
The Lowes across the
street had a nice
assortment of gardenias
and I grabbed some of
those as well. On the
way back to the car I
noticed that I’ve worn a
hole in the side of one
of my Sperry Topsiders
and should grab me a new
pair the next time I go
into the mall. I need to
make a note to myself
and look for a new watch
for my wife at some
place like Zales.
I was just about to pull
back into the drive way
at my house when a
friend of mine called me
on my new IPhone (these
are wonderful). He told
me that he and his wife
had just arrived in town
and were staying at one
of our local Marriott
hotels. We chatted for a
few minutes and then he
suggested we meet for
dinner tonight at Ruth
Chris Steak House. I
told him I was certain
we could make it at
eight.
Sitting back down at my
desk, I felt the
occasion called for
something stronger than
a soft drink so I
grabbed a bottle of Dos
Equis beer and looked
over my notes for this
week’s column.
As I said before, I
think the blatant
practice of trying to
capitalize upon a media
outlet for personal gain
is horrible in my
opinion and should be
stopped. A person should
not use their neutral
position for personal
gain.
That about wraps it up
for this week…..I have
to get on line and book
my flights on American
Airlines for our
upcoming vacation.
