Four years ago, I penned an article titled “Time for South Africa to do product placement inside of books? Enter Diary Chronicle books.” In that piece, I explored the potential of product placement in novels, specifically within the genre we pioneered: the “diary chronicles.”
At the time, AI wasn’t as mainstream as it is today, and it was still over a year before the launch of ChatGPT. For those of us in publishing—whether as editors, writers, or content creators—AI has since revolutionized, accelerated, and improved content creation.
Since then, numerous startups have emerged in the publishing space, often referred to as “booktech” companies. Startups like Spines, Created by Humans, Inkitt, and Book.io are at the forefront, offering services ranging from NFT-based book platforms to AI-enhanced manuscript editing, content licensing, and even tools to predict a book’s success by analyzing reader behavior. Innovations also include AI-generated audiobooks and voice creations.
Although product placement in books hasn’t fully taken off yet, I believe AI will soon make it a widespread and seamless practice.
A Historical Context: The Origins of Writing and Product Placement
Books and writing are among the earliest technologies of human civilization. The oldest known written script, cuneiform, dates back to around 3200 BC in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq).
Product placement as a concept can be traced back to the 19th century. One notable early instance is when shipping companies lobbied for mentions in Jules Verne’s 1873 novel Around the World in Eighty Days. This type of brand integration set a precedent for product placement in literature.
Modern Examples of Product Placement
Courvoisier cognac became famous to many through Busta Rhymes’ 2002 song “Pass the Courvoisier,” featuring P. Diddy. While initially not paid for the mention, Busta’s artistic reference helped the brand gain immense visibility. This later led to a formal promotional partnership, illustrating the potential of brand placement in artistic works.
Another example is Tupac Shakur’s 2004 song “Hennessy,” released posthumously and featuring rapper Obie Trice. The song further solidified the brand’s association with Black American cultural identity and nostalgia.
Similarly, the series Entourage popularized Avión Tequila through strategic product placement.
Product Placement in Literature
An early example of product placement in books is Fay Weldon’s 2000 novel The Bulgari Connection, where the luxury brand Bulgari was integrated into the title itself. This deal brought publicity to both the author and the brand, demonstrating how literature can be a valuable medium for brand visibility.
Other examples include Jenny Han’s 2014 novel To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, which featured Subway sandwiches and Yakult yogurt. When the book was adapted into a Netflix film, these brands gained additional exposure.
The Potential Role of AI in Product Placement
Platforms like Draft2Digital and Lulu.com simplify the global distribution of both print and digital books by aggregating content and distributing it to retailers such as Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, and others.
Looking ahead, I envision AI being used to integrate brand names seamlessly into specific scenes within books, enabling organic product placement. This could be tailored to clients’ needs without significantly altering the storyline or requiring a new ISBN.
For example, AI could allow advertisers to insert their client’s beer brands into a scene where a character is having a drink, ensuring the product’s integration enhances the story rather than distracting from it. Upon receiving requests from brands, AI scripts could rewrite the scene, allowing authors or publishers to approve or edit the suggestions.
Brands could advertise on a monthly basis or based on a certain number of units sold. This is even possible for print-on-demand books, as the text could be updated dynamically for each print run, allowing tailored, timely advertisements in both digital and physical copies.
Such technology could be embedded within the platforms used by book distributors or retailers, enabling seamless, on-demand content adjustments.
Benefits of Product Placement
Product placement in literature offers two key benefits:
- Increased Publicity and Brand Relevance: For people to buy a product, they first need to be aware of it and see its value. This is something Tupac’s Hennessy song did for the brand, as did Busta Rhymes for Courvoisier.
- Boosted Sales: Busta’s song alone increased Courvoisier sales by 4.5% in the first quarter of 2002.
Product Placement in “Diary Chronicle” Books
Despite the potential, we haven’t actively pursued product placement deals for our “diary chronicle” books. This genre, which I am proud to say we pioneered, has captivated millions of readers in South Africa, neighboring countries, and beyond. Emerging in 2013–2014, the genre includes fast-paced, diary-style narratives centered on social media-driven lifestyles.Our roster of diary chronicle books includes hits like Diary of a Zulu Girl by Mike Maphoto, Diary of a Side Chick Makhwapheni by Lesego Maake, and Diary of a Cheating Wife by Londiwe Xaba and Siphelele Masango. Many of these stories tackle modern relationships in the era of social media, with vivid depictions of nightlife, indulgence, and aspirational lifestyles.
Several books in the genre have even been adapted into TV series, such as Dudu Busani-Dube’s Hlomu the Wife and Angela Makholwa’s Red Ink. I’ve also heard that Jackie Phamotse was working on a TV series adaptation of her Bare series.Looking Ahead
At Bula Buka Publishers, we have exciting new diary chronicle books in the pipeline. We’re also exploring ways to integrate booktech into our publishing model and potentially launch a dedicated AI publishing accelerator or a fund for innovative publishing technologies.
As AI continues to evolve, I believe it will play a crucial role in bringing product placement into books, making this practice more prevalent and seamless than ever before.