It’s worthwhile to remember that product placement has the shift property (as in the best math-economic tradition). A logic deduction that deserves much more attention for being seldom employed… thus much more interesting.

If it is quite normal that a product on TV becomes famous and sells more, it can happen the same when a TV (or better a TV programme) is positioned on a product. Examples of this kind are very numerous and the more common are among the “product” most important, as consequence the efficacy of product placement rises incredibly, maybe without any speculative intent (..maybe…sometimes). The reference is to cultural and/or editorial products. Here one, over any suspect, because of its publication date (1961) and its author (Saul Bellow). In the book “Herzog”, at a certain point of the story, a bold and independent woman, quite a foolish grandmother, spends her time watching TV and especially “Dione Lucas”, a sort of swinging sixties Martha Stewart, author of kitchen books and successfully TV programmes during that period in America. No critics or reader has for a second ever doubted to stigmatize the reference, as it was without any doubt of an artistic choice……and by sure Dione Lucas was grateful for this.