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Comment by NKCSS | Hacker News Reader

I found it odd that several brands were mentioned where it adds nothing to the story; feels like product placement in soap opera's. e.g. Moleskin and Toyota; anyone know if they are actually getting paid for putting in those brand names?

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Knowing that someone uses Moleskine notebooks adds nothing to the story? To me, it says a lot. Writers are taught to be specific, in part because it keeps a story interesting and makes it more vivid. I'd attribute the details to that over paid product placement. But then again I'm not an "idea man" who ignores inconvenient details when they can't be reconciled with my amazing vision based on something a lunatic scribbled on an 18th century cocktail napkin

You could just as well write "Italian-made luxury notebook"; this had the benefit of being understandable internationally (for people who don't know the brand) or long after the company is closed.

I'm sitting here drinking an ice cold 7up and have no.idea.

I'd drink Dasani if I were you.

That's exactly what I thought. Mentioning those products was useless and they gave way too much about details about that. It felt like the same product placement of the movies.

It's like people only do these things because they can get paid. And that's just really sad.

I think it is just a writing device for tying the story to the real world and building character. Bloomberg does that quite often, "oh it's the type of person who drives a Toyota".

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