Examples
Product Placement In Books
Land Rover
Acclaimed British novelist William Boyd accepted a six-figure placement from Land Rover to write "The Vanishing Game," a 17,000-word thriller about an unemployed, down-on-his-luck actor who takes what seems like an innocuous courier job driving a weather-battered Land Rover Defender from London to a remote Scottish church, and quickly unfolds into a dangerous adventure with shadowy characters
Sweet'N Low
Hillary Carlip's novel "Find Me I'm Yours" featured prominent product placement of Sweet'N Low artificial sweetener, with Cumberland Corporation investing about one million in the project. The main character, Mags, works for a bridal magazine in Los Angeles, and references to the sweetener are made throughout, with Mags even commenting on Sweet'N Low's lack of carcinogens and its endorsement by food regulators.
BMW
BMW partnered with Random House to publish an audiobook series by best-sellng crime writers Don Winslow, Karin Slaughter, James Flint, and Simon Kernick, with each story subtly featuring a different BMW model (Z4, X3, 1 Series, and 7 Series). The campaign achieved 140,000 downloads, with 60% from non-BMW owners, proving automotive brands could reach audiences through quality literary content at a fraction of traditional advertising costs.
Paspaley
Best-selling author Anna Funder created and wrote "Everything Precious," a bespoke short story about a married mother who reconnects with an ex-lover through Facebook. The story included references to Paspaley's pearl brand and was released in hardcover, iBook, Kindle edition, and audiobook, read by Funder herself, and garnered significant media attention, being covered in Vogue, Elle and the UK's Daily Mail
Cover Girl
"Cathy's Book," by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman was a groundbreaking YA novel including numerous mentions of CoverGirl makeup, paid for by Procter & Gamble. The innovative book combined traditional storytelling with interactive elements and debuted at #7 on the New York Times Children's Best Seller list. The CoverGirl references were woven into the story of teenage artist Cathy investigating her ex-boyfriend's mysterious disappearance.
Skittles
"Skittles Riddles Math" by Barbara Barbieri McGrath is an educational children's book that utilizes Skittles as a teaching tool for math concepts, with real Skittles featured on each page. McGrath specializes in product placement in educational books, including "The Cheerios Counting Book" and also "Hershey's Kisses: Counting Board Book," representing a unique approach to product placement in educational books, and have sold more than one million copies.