Brace yourself for some serious word-vomit today, as I try to gather my thoughts into coherent sentences! When I first had the idea for this post, it was titled, “I Hate Technology References in Fiction”, but as I began writing I realised that I’m completely fine with technology in fiction. In fact, when used well, I think technology can really add to the story (think texts, instant messages, and emails incorporated into the storyline).
What does get on my nerves in fiction, are references to actual brands, especially social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Even though these sites have been around for quite a while, I’m only noticing them becoming present in fiction lately (particularly Contemporary YA), but it’s a trend that seems to be growing, and I don’t like it.
Technology, the Internet and social media have been around for quite a while, and sites like Facebook and Twitter aren’t going to disappear any time soon. So it’s understandable that authors will try to incorporate them somehow into the story. It’s relevant, believable and relatable for the book’s audience. But for some reason, when I see references to actual brands in fiction, it really irks me.
Part of the reason brand references annoy me so much is because it pulls me out of the story. Although contemporary fiction is based in the real-world, for me on some level, it’s more of a parallel world. So when I stumble upon a reference to a real-life website, it kind of jolts me out of that fictional world and back into reality. I’ve read novels that have social media sites, and popular fast food chains, and franchised coffee shops, but the authors have given them made-up names relative to the world the story is set in, and that works so much better for me!
While some people may argue that references to “big brands” in fiction capture the culture and time we live in, I think it negatively affects the timeless-ness of the story (I’m making timeless-ness a word). Stories are loved over many generations because of reoccurring and relatable themes, emotions and scenarios, not because of the accuracy of the context of the time when they were written.
References to real-life brands in fiction seems to be a pet peeve of mine, which may change over time as I become more accustomed to seeing them mentioned in the books I read (hopefully not!), but I wanted to write this post to see if I can determine why brand references annoy me so much. I’m all out of ideas, so it appears I have two semi-logical reasons!
Over to you! Do real-life brand references annoy you, or do you love them and think we should have more of them? Why do you like or dislike brand references in fiction? Let me know in the comments!
Confessions of a Book Geek 
Do other brand references annoy you? There are some things that many people use a brand name for, even if they don’t mean that specific brand: Oreos, Kleenex, Coke, Band-Aid, Cool Whip, Xerox, etc. Technologically speaking, many people say Google as a verb, even if they aren’t specifically using Google. Do any of these examples annoy you? Is it just social media sites?
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Excellent question! I just finished a Diane Chamberlain book that references McDonald’s, and while it didn’t irk me as much as social media referencing (perhaps because social media is “newer”?), I was still kind of thinking, “Uhhh, why reference THAT brand!?”. It’s WEIRD that my fictional worlds, even contemporary ones set in reality, are completely fictional to me, and I just don’t expect to see real-world references in it. They really do throw me off! Lol Makes me realise how many books I read that don’t reference modern-day brands. The only one out of the examples you gave that wouldn’t annoy me is Band-Aid because it’s kind of become synonymous with the item, as opposed to the brand. Like Sello-tape. Though it’s American, we call them plasters. I would find it so odd to read a book that references Hotmail, or iPhone. I think it dates the text to an extent as well, as it’s specifically set at a point in time when those brands are popular, which means x number of years down the line, it’ll affect its relevance. It’s an odd pet peeve, I know, but one I have and I’m trying to figure out why… Do brands in fiction annoy you? R xx
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Brands in fiction only annoy me if they’re inconsistent – like, if a book referenced McDonalds, but used a made up name for Facebook. I think authors should either stick to our reality or make up an alternate one, not mix the two. For instance, Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl bothered me when it referenced Harry Potter, even though Simon Snow was obviously an alternate version of Harry. Contemporary books will always date themselves, regardless of name brands. If they’re good enough books, they’ll stick around until they become classics. Jane Austen wrote contemporary fiction.
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You are on FIRE tonight, as that was the next question I had in mind – when “classics” authors were writing, such as Austen writing a contemporary, did they reference things like brands-for-the-time, that are now redundant?? Or were brands not really a thing then, or just not included in literature??
Fangirl annoyed me in general because of that obvious Harry Potter reference, just call it what it is in that case! I’ve been told Carry On is meant to be good though, even by those who didn’t like Fangirl. However, not sure how she got away with that one, as it’s basically published Harry Potter fan fiction, no?
I read lots of contemporaries that may date for other reasons e.g. turns of phrase, but don’t reference brands etc., that place them in a specific time. It’s a very strange thing, because brands as pop-culture references you would imagine would be in many books, and be something that wouldn’t annoy modern readers. But I don’t see it in a lot of texts, and it does annoy me. I’m going to have to accept this odd idiosyncrasy of mine, because I can’t quite explain it! Lol R xx
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I don’t think brands were as big a thing in Regency England, but I’ll definitely be on the lookout the next time I read Austen, lol.
I’ve not read Carry On, because I hated the excerpts in Fangirl. I much prefer Rainbow Rowell’s adult books than her YA. And yeah, I have no idea how she was able to publish fanfic.
Does product placement bother you in movies and TV? Maybe you subconsciously feel like the author is using branding on purpose to advertise?
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LOL. The inclusion of brands in literature and whatnot may not have been a thing, but brands have been around in one form or another since the days of the Romans, with an awful lot of them becoming what we know of as brands in the 19th Century, it would be amazing to see if brands are included in any classic/older texts.
I didn’t much like Eleanor and Park either… I haven’t tried her adult fiction yet though.
Even though I have a background in advertising and marketing, yes product placement does annoy me lol I appreciate that it’s a valid marketing tool, and that movies and TV shows get funding from it to help produce them, but what annoys me is the split second freeze-frame and close up on brand names when you’re in the middle of watching something. It’s so obvious, and puts me off brands because they’re being shoved in my face. To some extent, maybe that is why I dislike it in fiction, it’s like enough already! Lol R xx
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Hmm, I can’t say it bothers me all that much. I can understand someone reading the book way down the road, and let’s just say Facebook no longer exists then (*gasp*), and them going, ‘WTF is a Facebook?!’ Then it will seem silly that it’s referenced. But I guess while I’m reading a book and stuff like that pops up, I just skim right past it without much thought. But I can see your argument!
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I definitely think down the line people will think, “what on earth are they talking about?!”, but for some semi-inexplicable reason, it really annoys me! Lol Hopefully you won’t start noticing it now that I’ve written about it! Lol R xx
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Seeing “text” syntax and emojis is the worst in fiction and I have encountered a few of them. I understand it’s intent and purpose…but why? Not to mention seeing slurs and misspellings and shortforms is just so tacky. If I see another “u” stand-in for “you” — I will lose my shit.
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Hey stranger, how are you???
YES! That annoys me SO much, even though I found one of my old phones a few weeks ago, and 15-17 year old me used to use text-speak. Shoot me now (to be honest, I did it on Facebook too years ago, so it’s not like I had to find an old phone to know I was a pleb). 2nite, luv, gr8, etc. URGH I HATE THAT lol R xx
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I’m always a little apprehensive to read books with text exchanges and online chats. I think it kind of throws off the flow of the book. But moving on to what your post is actually about, I hate product placement in movies and tv shows, it always comes across as disingenuous and often very awkward. I haven’t come across it in print (or at least I haven’t notices), but I’m pretty sure it would mess with the flow again, jarring me from my reading experience. While it may not exactly be “product placement”, it still feels weird to me. I don’t read a lot of contemporary books, so I haven’t noticed that it’s become more common, but I’m just hoping no one comes up with the brilliant idea to write a book using only Tweets or something. Shoot, I just did. Great discussion!
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I really enjoy emails and texts in books, if it’s done well I think it can add so much to character relationships to see those little moments that aren’t necessarily long dialogues, but snippets into digital conversations. It’s especially cute in contemporary romances <3.
Yes! Product placement is so disingenuous, and so obviously done. I really tend to ignore it. If it helps fund some of my favourite shows or movies that may not be able to go into production without that funding, then fair enough, but generally I'm not a fan. With books though, it's not that it feels like product placement, it's that it ages the book. It puts it in a specific space in time, and unless being in that time period is necessary for the plot, it just puts me off. That and it pulls me out of the made-up fictional escapist world I'm in, and rudely smacks me right back into reality.
Haha – a Twitter novel, now there's an idea! Have you read Illuminae yet? While not Twitter, it's all told through emails and confidential files and what not, with no story prose at all. Meant to be excellent. I have a copy on my TBR but I haven't picked it up yet. R xx
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Very interesting. I just read Julie Buxbaum’s Tell Me Three Things where the protagonist has a mysterious penpel that she communicates with through email and instant message. I really enjoyed it. If you haven’t checked it out, you really should! I haven’t read Illuminae yet, but I hear everyone praise it. I actually checked it out from the library not too long ago, saw that it needs some really close attention in order to get through it, ran out of time and had to return it. I’ll probably seek it out again.
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I’ve seen that one floating about, well, I can see the cover in my mind anyways lol I really like books that incorporate multiple story-telling devices. As long as it isn’t contrived I think it usually works really well. I picked Illuminae up to read and put it down again too. I will read it, but it feels like it’ll take a while to get into as you are basically reading a case file. Really interesting way to tell a story though, especially a sci-fi! R xx
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You made me think about this one for a minute. I don’t think it annoys me – but it’ll be interesting 20 years in the future, when these references come up and I think … that’s so old school!
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Lol it will, especially if it’s a fleeting brand. Some brands will likely be ingrained in future generations and make it to the history books. Others, not so much. It’s part of the reason why I question authors including brands, because it’s hard to guess which ones will have longevity for future generations. R xx
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Yes, sometimes the references do bug me but not always and I can’t decide why that is. I think it depends on the whether it feels necessary for them to name the brand.
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I can’t pinpoint my issue with it either really, I’ve chatted it out so much in the comments! I think I’ve pinned down 2/3 understandable reasons, but it still doesn’t quite cover my annoyance! Lol R xx
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It does bother me when social media or contemporary brands or businesses are featured in books. I feel it’s free advertising for that brand (and perhaps an endorsement) as well as something that could be a key word in a plot synopsis or such to attract attention online in searches.
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Yes – I didn’t even consider the advertising/endorsement element of it, just the fact it would date the text, and that it pulls me out of the comfort-bubble of the fictional story, because instead of imagining the characters’ world, I start seeing our own, and the two usually don’t blend well! R xx
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Brand references in books don’t actually bother me. I know what you mean, this can make the book seem dated later on and I know for you it can jar you out of the story, but it’s never bothered me. In contemporary fiction it often seems inevitable because the internet and technology have sort have become ingrained in our everyday lives. I get what you’re saying, changing the names of things so it’s still the same site or social media thing can make it a bit more timeless and is easier for some to read but for me it’s all the same thing regardless.
I’m pretty sure you’ve mentioned before on a post I did a while back you don’t like real life music references in your books either. What I’m getting from all this is you like your books to stay in their little fictional made up bubble, which completely makes sense. I mean, we read books as escapism really, who needs the real world encroaching?
I think the thing which bothers me in featuring technology and social media in books is the fact it can date it. Reading some contemporary books from about 10 years ago and you notice the change in technology which gets mentioned and you can’t believe how old that all sounds like the days of flip phones and dial up tone.
This is a really interesting post about a topic I’d never really considered before and I just know I’m going to notice these little references in my books now, we’ll see how my view changes now I’ve thought about it.
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Ironically, just after I wrote this post, the book I was reading at the time was FULL of branded references (thought none social media based that I can remember), and it was a book by one of my favourite authors. I was so conflicted! Lol Ultimately, I decided that I liked the book overall, but the references did irk me, and I’d have preferred a generic coffee shop or restaurant, rather then the well-known fast food chain that was used (bada ba ba da, I’m lovin’ it).
As for the Internet being ingrained in every day life, that’s so true. And I do think some stories benefit from technology being included – emails for example, or text messages. I love when they are included in a book and the format matches the method of communication. But, I don’t like when Facebook the brand is mentioned, or Yahoo. It’s such an odd quirk to have, but I don’t like it. I guess in some way the books I read and the movies I watch, to me, are taking place in a parallel universe!
YES – “What I’m getting from all this is you like your books to stay in their little fictional made up bubble, which completely makes sense. I mean, we read books as escapism really, who needs the real world encroaching?” But the funny thing is, I didn’t know this about myself! Lol
Aging literature is definitely an aspect of brand references that annoy me, though on some level, if they are “timeless” references, I wonder would students of the future include the references of the time in part of the literature analysis. Like, is a soap brand mentioned in Pride and Prejudice or anything, you know?
I could drive myself insane with noticing these, so I generally take a deep breath and get over it, was just an observation I HAD to get off my chest! 😀
R xx
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I’m with you on this one. Although, honestly, I’m not irritated when I see older brands in books, nor do I mind pop culture references…but only if the book is set in the past. I read a book a few years ago that made a reference to Spongebob Squarepants and it kind of ruined the story for me. But, if a book made a reference to the Breakfast Club or Pretty In Pink, I would totally be on board.
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I’m not sure I’ve come across older brands in books… So I’m not sure how they would affect me. Same with pop culture references… I guess it depends on how much the reference is embedded in pop culture history where it’s relevant to the story and makes you nod in agreement somehow, or think “yes!”. I think the contemporary references get to me because they aren’t embedded in pop culture history yet because we don’t know what will take and last, and what won’t. Interesting point, Jackie! R xx
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