Tourist Attractions?

[Roly]

Hey I was just wondering...let's say you're writing a contemporary story and you want to have your characters go to a popular tourist attraction like say Marine Land/ Six Flags/ Disney World or something. Would that seem realistic (assuming there are real plot-reasons as to why the characters are there) or would it just seem like shameless free-advertisement?

In fact how do you handle brands in general? If your character is playing a video game, would you let your readers know that she's playing it on the Nintendo DS/X box 360? While drinking Pepsi? Or would you shy away from specifics?

[Maxinquaye]

I'd let the reader fill in the blanks himself. Instead of writing "He dialed Frank on his iPhone", I would writer "He dialed Frank on his mobile."

Or, "Jeanette and Amy looked up. Despite their thick black glasses, the pillars of Abu Simbel nearly disappeared against the bright sky."

You can't avoid some brands, I guess. Disneyworld and London Eye are fixtures, and it would be silly not to mention them.

[bonitakale]

Depends on whether the brand is useful or not. "She strode forward in her Jimmy Choos, and I scurried behind in my Hushpuppies," could be useful, or, "A Mercedes/ Lexus/ Camry/ Ford pickup was parked in the driveway."

But, "I took off my Land's End turtleneck, blew my nose on a Puff, and threw myself down on my Lane sofa to cry some more," would be just silly.

In between, it depends on the character. If he's a kid, he'd notice the kind of video game. But what's hot when you write it probably won't be hot when it's published, so you might want to make up something that sounds cool. The type of soft drink matters only if it matters to him, but you have to call it something, and no one says, "He was drinking a cola."

"He had a can of Cherry-Mango Coke in one hand, and the control to SubVolcanic Doom in the other."


And, Disney Corp. being the beast it is, if someone goes to an amusement park with big-headed cartoon creatures roaming around killing people, I'd make up a place just to be on the safe side.

[kaitie]

LOL @ SubVolcanic Doom. :D I want to read that book haha.

Anyway, I also think it depends on the reasoning. I mention lots of brands in my last story, whereas I usually don't. I have a joke about a Wii in there, I mention Coke and McDonald's, but all of it was done on purpose. There are a few places where I talk around it without actually mentioning it as well. It just depends on what I'm trying to show about the character. Generally speaking, if there isn't a good reason for it I leave it off completely.

[JamieFord]

Put 'em in if it enhances the scene, but don't overdo it like:

"Bob finally took his kids to Disneyworld Theme Parks--Where a Kid Can Be a Kid!"

You know what I mean...

[sassandgroove]

I accidently posted before I was done.

Here are some other discussions on the same or similar topic.

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125827&highlight=brand+names


http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95872&highlight=brand+names


http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102120&highlight=brand+names

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130757&highlight=disney


http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=657721&postcount=9

This last one is in the Novels index, and has a lot of discussions about this.

[Lost World]

Brand names are good for describing the tastes of your important characters. I wrote a short entirely from the POV of a burnout construction worker; in the story he drinks Budweiser exclusively, just like a real burnout from the Northeast. One scene takes place at a trendy bar, and he strains his eyes looking at the dozen or so beer taps, mostly micros, until he finds Budweiser. It's essential to his character, bringing him to life much more than just asking for a "beer".

If such things aren't important just don't use them. My latest has a scene where the MC sits down to talk with a mob enforcer. They drink bourbon, brand not important as I'm moving the plot as opposed to rouding out the MC.