Product Placement - smoking?
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Boxlicker101
Licker of Boxes
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When do you see this done?
I have seen dozens of porno movies and I don't remember anybody smoking after sex. I certainly never include it in any of my stories.
3113
Hello Summer!
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Do you mean in stories? It's not common in movies any more but back in the day it was product placement at least when folk smoked on television.
There are stories here that detail fetishes where men, in particular, want women who smoke. But I don't think that putting in detail like "She smoked Camels--" is anything other than the writer trying to give a realistic feel the story, as compared to selling the cigarettes.
It'd be the same if we heard that the man or woman was sipping at an apple martini with Smirnoff Vodka while slowly undressing. The alcohol is connected to the sex and a certain type of vodka is mentioned, but the writer presents the one to demonstrate how some folk like sex, and the other to anchor the scene in the here and now, to make it more real.
And there's nothing offensive about connecting sex to booze, smoking or guns for that matter, per se. That is, the people reading such stories usually already connect smoking and sex--that's why that story caught their attention and why they're reading it, to indulge in their particular fetish--those that don't think smoking is sexy likely won't read the story, of if they do, be swayed by it unless it's very well written and memorable.
slyc_willie
Captain Crash
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Quite a few of my stories involve characters who smoke. But then, I am a smoker, and I find that the act itself can often be sexy. Not everyone feels this way, of course, but then, I don't want to write stories for everyone. I write for my little niche.
I've wondered in the past if including smoking in my stories might turn some readers off. Then I realized that smoking, like blonde hair, a dark tan, working blue collar jobs or driving a mini-van is just as likely to turn off a reader. Or turn them on.
As far as "product placement" . . . I don't work for Camel, Marlboro, or any other tobacco company. And I honestly couldn't care less how they market their product. I'm not looking for smoking "converts." I include it for the same reason authors mention their characters drinking chocolate milk, eating Cheerios, or driving a Dodge. It's a quirk, and nothing more.
I've wondered in the past if including smoking in my stories might turn some readers off. Then I realized that smoking, like blonde hair, a dark tan, working blue collar jobs or driving a mini-van is just as likely to turn off a reader. Or turn them on.
As far as "product placement" . . . I don't work for Camel, Marlboro, or any other tobacco company. And I honestly couldn't care less how they market their product. I'm not looking for smoking "converts." I include it for the same reason authors mention their characters drinking chocolate milk, eating Cheerios, or driving a Dodge. It's a quirk, and nothing more.
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dr_mabeuse
seduce the mind
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"Do you always smoke after sex?"
"I don't know. I never looked."
"I don't know. I never looked."
dr_mabeuse
seduce the mind
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And what if we do include it in our stories? I have people taking heroin in my stories. We have kids fucking their mothers in our stories.
Jesus Christ, this place is about sin and transgression and pushing the boundaries of human experience and you're worried about smoking?
Jesus Christ, this place is about sin and transgression and pushing the boundaries of human experience and you're worried about smoking?
slyc_willie
Captain Crash
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The particular stories that got my attention were quite graphic in the inclusion of smoking
"When Randi invited her to sit, Candace noted a glass of white wine was on the table in front of her next to a hard pack of Virginia Slims Menthol 120s topped by a tiny gold lighter. As usual, Randi looked incredible with her long blonde highlighted hair hanging straight over her shoulders, her striking blue eyes set against dark, smoky eye make-up, her lips glistening in a cinnamon shade. Randi's oldest was a few years behind the twins and their families attended the same church.
(paragraphs of pulsating sex paraphrased)...
Keeping his cock buried in he sticky pussy, Jon reached down to turn her face back over her shoulder and towards him. As lowered his face to hers, Candace craned her head around to try and kiss him, their tongues having to bridge the short distance remaining between their lips.
"That was incredible!" she whispered breathlessly. "Fucking incredible!!!"
PART THREE
Jon mixed a couple of strong gin and tonics from the mini-bar and joined Candace who was sitting up naked against the headboard, a plush pillow behind her.
After taking a healthy pull from her drink, Candace reached for her purse wanting to reapply her lip gloss. Jon watched closely as she ran the thin applicator brush expertly over her luscious lips leaving them glistening in a soft, red shade. Putting the tube back in her purse, she noticed that she still had Randi's cigarettes. Barely a social smoker, who might light up if she had too much to drink, Candace felt an overwhelming urge come over her.
She flipped the top of the hard pack and removed one of the long, white cigarettes. Jon took the lighter from her and she brought the cigarette to her wetly, shining lips a hand resting gently on his as he thumbed a spark. She took a long, deep drag and exhaled a thin stream up towards the ceiling in the dimly lit room as Jon reached for her purse to return the lighter.
His eyes caught her phone and he removed it.
"Very nice! Is this new?" he asked.
Candace took another long draw and exhaled before responding..."
Don't know, seems lik its written by advertising types to me.
"When Randi invited her to sit, Candace noted a glass of white wine was on the table in front of her next to a hard pack of Virginia Slims Menthol 120s topped by a tiny gold lighter. As usual, Randi looked incredible with her long blonde highlighted hair hanging straight over her shoulders, her striking blue eyes set against dark, smoky eye make-up, her lips glistening in a cinnamon shade. Randi's oldest was a few years behind the twins and their families attended the same church.
(paragraphs of pulsating sex paraphrased)...
Keeping his cock buried in he sticky pussy, Jon reached down to turn her face back over her shoulder and towards him. As lowered his face to hers, Candace craned her head around to try and kiss him, their tongues having to bridge the short distance remaining between their lips.
"That was incredible!" she whispered breathlessly. "Fucking incredible!!!"
PART THREE
Jon mixed a couple of strong gin and tonics from the mini-bar and joined Candace who was sitting up naked against the headboard, a plush pillow behind her.
After taking a healthy pull from her drink, Candace reached for her purse wanting to reapply her lip gloss. Jon watched closely as she ran the thin applicator brush expertly over her luscious lips leaving them glistening in a soft, red shade. Putting the tube back in her purse, she noticed that she still had Randi's cigarettes. Barely a social smoker, who might light up if she had too much to drink, Candace felt an overwhelming urge come over her.
She flipped the top of the hard pack and removed one of the long, white cigarettes. Jon took the lighter from her and she brought the cigarette to her wetly, shining lips a hand resting gently on his as he thumbed a spark. She took a long, deep drag and exhaled a thin stream up towards the ceiling in the dimly lit room as Jon reached for her purse to return the lighter.
His eyes caught her phone and he removed it.
"Very nice! Is this new?" he asked.
Candace took another long draw and exhaled before responding..."
Don't know, seems lik its written by advertising types to me.
slyc_willie
Captain Crash
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Most likely not. Just a fan of a particular brand, tying in a connection to a certain personal fantasy.
Lit is very careful about spam and product endorsement. This is a free site that endorses nothing but sexual liberation, depravity, and sometimes a mixture of both.
Lauren Hynde
Hitched
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Personally, I think that's damn good writing. There's detail and there are very concrete images that create an atmosphere and even - get this - as a sexual metaphor. That's the way to do it.
And to paraphrase the doc, the story is pretty graphic in the description of sex and you're worried about it also being "quite graphic in the inclusion of smoking"? Jesus Christ.
And to paraphrase the doc, the story is pretty graphic in the description of sex and you're worried about it also being "quite graphic in the inclusion of smoking"? Jesus Christ.
slyc_willie
Captain Crash
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amicus
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Egads...to find myself in total agreement with dr. Mabeuse is a rare occasion and should not go without notice.
I smoke...have for fifty years, because I enjoy both the taste and smell of tobacco, and even pot, and I enjoy the tactile sensations that accompany both the touch and the sight of blue-grey spirals of smoke.
There is a line from the film, "For Love of the Game", Kevin Costner, "Jesus Christ lady, we can't smoke in bars and now we can't talk?"
Smoking is a political issue, has been for a long time and even more just today as the powers that be in Washington, D.C. placed a sixty one cent tax per package of cigarettes, a carton will now cost $6.10 more than before.
I consume five cartons a month, down from eight since they tell me my bladder cancer is the result of smoking. Maybe.
Women are sensitive critters, they claim their sense of smell and taste are better than men's. Even before they got the vote they banned alcohol, to control those pesky menfolk.
Now, in cahoots with the Insurance companies and their colleagues, whom I think are in colusion also with the global warming freaks, they are passing legislation to making using tobacco products more expensive, mainly because men enjoy tobacco and it is too harsh for most of the sensitive ladies noses.
Such a deal.
I use both cigarette and cigar smokers in my stories, when it is suitable to enhance a character or a scene and as Mab, make no apologies.
And, (the devil made me do it), even Ms. Coulter has a word or two, but you will not like the piece she wrote.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=30570
Amicus...
I smoke...have for fifty years, because I enjoy both the taste and smell of tobacco, and even pot, and I enjoy the tactile sensations that accompany both the touch and the sight of blue-grey spirals of smoke.
There is a line from the film, "For Love of the Game", Kevin Costner, "Jesus Christ lady, we can't smoke in bars and now we can't talk?"
Smoking is a political issue, has been for a long time and even more just today as the powers that be in Washington, D.C. placed a sixty one cent tax per package of cigarettes, a carton will now cost $6.10 more than before.
I consume five cartons a month, down from eight since they tell me my bladder cancer is the result of smoking. Maybe.
Women are sensitive critters, they claim their sense of smell and taste are better than men's. Even before they got the vote they banned alcohol, to control those pesky menfolk.
Now, in cahoots with the Insurance companies and their colleagues, whom I think are in colusion also with the global warming freaks, they are passing legislation to making using tobacco products more expensive, mainly because men enjoy tobacco and it is too harsh for most of the sensitive ladies noses.
Such a deal.
I use both cigarette and cigar smokers in my stories, when it is suitable to enhance a character or a scene and as Mab, make no apologies.
And, (the devil made me do it), even Ms. Coulter has a word or two, but you will not like the piece she wrote.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=30570
Amicus...
gauchecritic
When there are grey skies
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It doesn't look to me like the brand is mentioned for any other reason than to give the reader a concrete picture of what the cigarettes look like. A poor method because it demands intimate knowledge by the reader but the mention itself is what is known as shadowing. Describing the thing before you use it.
I thought it was very effective in that regard.
Perdita once quoted a writer as saying something like "If you're going to mention an axe in your story make sure that you damn well use it."
When the cigarette is actually smoked I had a complete picture of what was happening. When she re-applied her lip gloss, that gave me an insight into Candi and how she thought about her appearance. Then the thin white tube had somewhere to be contrasted with.
She put her hand around his as he sparked the lighter, this is a flirting manoeuvre. They've just shagged and she's still flirting with him.
She takes a deep drag indicating a particular satisfaction, not with the cigarette but with the sex.
She blows 'a thin stream of smoke up', this is a classic example of smoking body language that indicates a buoyant mood.
It's really very accomplished writing. The name of a cigarette really doesn't matter.
I thought it was very effective in that regard.
Perdita once quoted a writer as saying something like "If you're going to mention an axe in your story make sure that you damn well use it."
When the cigarette is actually smoked I had a complete picture of what was happening. When she re-applied her lip gloss, that gave me an insight into Candi and how she thought about her appearance. Then the thin white tube had somewhere to be contrasted with.
She put her hand around his as he sparked the lighter, this is a flirting manoeuvre. They've just shagged and she's still flirting with him.
She takes a deep drag indicating a particular satisfaction, not with the cigarette but with the sex.
She blows 'a thin stream of smoke up', this is a classic example of smoking body language that indicates a buoyant mood.
It's really very accomplished writing. The name of a cigarette really doesn't matter.
dr_mabeuse
seduce the mind
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To find myself in agreement with Amicus on any issue is disturbing. To find that we smoke about the same amount is mildly alarming.
I love tobacco in all its forms. Smoke cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. I'm also old enough to recall a time when everyone smoked and when the brand you puffed said as much about you as the car you drove or the clothes you wore. Virginia Slims was a woman's brand, made slimmer and more elegant than other cigarettes, and the person who smoked them was very femme, maybe slightly domme-ish. It was the female version of a man's Camel or Marlboro. They even had a little feminine filligree imprinted on the paper near the filter. The author's tellin us thatthis is a very girly girl, maybe a bit intimidating in her femininity.
The brand was mentioned as character development, that's all. It's an example of how easy writing was back when people smoked. You could describe so much emotion by what people did with their cigarettes; the way they drew on them, lit them, flicked the ash or put them out; ground them under their feet or flicked them into the gutter or stubbed them out in an ashtray. Anger, fear, joy, confusion, resignation, you name it -- they were all apparent in the simple act of smoking.
The cigarette was also a great spacer for conversations, serving as a rest does in music, to help establish a realistic rhythm to the speech. "John took a drag on his cigarette," sounds so much better than, "John paused and thought about it." All that's gone now, alas. When they banned smoking, they didn't consider the effect it would have on us writers.
Gauche gives some examples of how this author used smoking to convey emotion and mood. As far as I can tell, that's all that's going on here. My descriptions of drug experiences in my fiction are much more prosyletizing as far as advertising goes.
To go on about the smoking ban, Amicus is right. Bars and taverns are miserable places now, the happiness and mystique gone with the blue pall of smoke that used to gather near the ceiling. I didn't realize how true this was till I went into my neighborhood cigar store and found it filled with genuinely contented men, puffing away, smiling, the world be damned. That's where joy has gone, to the tobacca shops, the last refuge of the classic, old-style American male.
Liquor might be slicker, but there's something about tobacco that soothes the soul, even if it does ravage the body. Smoke itself is the stuff of dreams, something I'm aware of every time I light up.
I love tobacco in all its forms. Smoke cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. I'm also old enough to recall a time when everyone smoked and when the brand you puffed said as much about you as the car you drove or the clothes you wore. Virginia Slims was a woman's brand, made slimmer and more elegant than other cigarettes, and the person who smoked them was very femme, maybe slightly domme-ish. It was the female version of a man's Camel or Marlboro. They even had a little feminine filligree imprinted on the paper near the filter. The author's tellin us thatthis is a very girly girl, maybe a bit intimidating in her femininity.
The brand was mentioned as character development, that's all. It's an example of how easy writing was back when people smoked. You could describe so much emotion by what people did with their cigarettes; the way they drew on them, lit them, flicked the ash or put them out; ground them under their feet or flicked them into the gutter or stubbed them out in an ashtray. Anger, fear, joy, confusion, resignation, you name it -- they were all apparent in the simple act of smoking.
The cigarette was also a great spacer for conversations, serving as a rest does in music, to help establish a realistic rhythm to the speech. "John took a drag on his cigarette," sounds so much better than, "John paused and thought about it." All that's gone now, alas. When they banned smoking, they didn't consider the effect it would have on us writers.
Gauche gives some examples of how this author used smoking to convey emotion and mood. As far as I can tell, that's all that's going on here. My descriptions of drug experiences in my fiction are much more prosyletizing as far as advertising goes.
To go on about the smoking ban, Amicus is right. Bars and taverns are miserable places now, the happiness and mystique gone with the blue pall of smoke that used to gather near the ceiling. I didn't realize how true this was till I went into my neighborhood cigar store and found it filled with genuinely contented men, puffing away, smiling, the world be damned. That's where joy has gone, to the tobacca shops, the last refuge of the classic, old-style American male.
Liquor might be slicker, but there's something about tobacco that soothes the soul, even if it does ravage the body. Smoke itself is the stuff of dreams, something I'm aware of every time I light up.
The_Fool
smiling for the camera
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Describing the brand of cigarette in such detail is kind of an interesting form of character development that probably means nothing to someone other than a former or current cig smoker. Much of which Dr. Mabeuse brought out, other than the fact that it was a menthol cigarette, which makes a statement as well.
The vignette with Candace and Jon is out of context but the fact that Candace smoking was out of her normal character may have been a metaphor or an extension of her doing other things outside of her normal character.
The vignette with Candace and Jon is out of context but the fact that Candace smoking was out of her normal character may have been a metaphor or an extension of her doing other things outside of her normal character.
oggbashan
Dying Truth seeker
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Strand cigarettes
The advertising campaign for Strand cigarettes is often quoted as a disastrous idea.
The main character was like the villain in a film noir, pictured alone with his packet of Strand, lighting one with the slogan "You're never alone with a Strand". Of course he always was alone.
The message that came across was that if you smoked Strand you would be alone - permanently.
Og
The advertising campaign for Strand cigarettes is often quoted as a disastrous idea.
The main character was like the villain in a film noir, pictured alone with his packet of Strand, lighting one with the slogan "You're never alone with a Strand". Of course he always was alone.
The message that came across was that if you smoked Strand you would be alone - permanently.
Og
J
JAMESBJOHNSON
Guest
When a man buys a pack of VIRGINIA SLIMS or EVE or MORE for himself...you just know. You need say nothing more about him to know his vocation, political party, etc.
If a man smokes Lucky Strikes or unfiltered CAMELS...you know all you need to know about him.
If a man smokes Lucky Strikes or unfiltered CAMELS...you know all you need to know about him.
3113
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Does the author smoke? Perhaps. Does the author know women who have smoked? Undoubtedly. Does the author think such women sexy or, if the author is female, herself, sexy to men? Sure. Is the author deliberately promoting smoking and marketing that brand of cigarette? Unlikely.
What's got you worried is something writers do--two possibilities actually--and the fact that you ran into it with cigarettes rather than Starbucks coffee was your bad luck. Either or both of these two things happened: (1) the writer(s) (who may not be into smoking at all) did exactly as Dr. M. and others have pointed out here and put in the cigarettes as a good writer does in order to (a) give the character character, (b) have pauses in the dialogue, (c) as gauchecritic's beautiful analysis proves, to create a metaphor and (d) to give the story realism and/or, (2) smoking is something the writer knows and likes (women who smoke or smoking themselves) and they wrote what they know and like.
As I said, it was your bad luck you ran into a story (stories) with smoking. I guarantee you that there are 100 times more stories on this site replace that cigarette with Starbuck's coffee, and in that instance you really are almost faced with people promoting coffee drinking and marketing Starbucks in particular. I've read stories here where the sexy heroine doesn't merely sip at her iced mocha in between talking with the hero, but ruminates on how wonderful the mocha is, the best drink in the world.
Then again, maybe you did read those stories yet found nothing offensive about people drinking coffee? Yet mochas aren't real healthy, and mentioning Starbucks is no worse than mentioning a brand of cigarettes if we going to assume that the mere mention of such constitutes marketing.
Ultimately, as Dr. M. pointed out, you're on an Erotica forum. And if you keep reading you will run into stories that have this stuff in all varieties. These are people's fantasies, and in fantasies we aren't always moral, or virtuous, or good, or conscientious. People not only put in the sex they want to have, but all their favorite, very unhealthy vices, from coffee to Twinkies to greasy hamburgers and a six pack of beer. And this, as Dr. M. pointed out, doesn't even get into the illegal unhealthy vices like shooting up heroin.
Putting it another way, if you keep reading stories here, you're going to be offended. Often. Welcome to the world of Erotic fiction.
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Katyusha
Kitten at Heart
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*shrug* If you say so. I didn't see it that way, in fact I agree with those who say that the specifics of the cigs are in there to paint a picture rather than to advertise.
off2bed
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JagFarlane
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Most likely not. Just a fan of a particular brand, tying in a connection to a certain personal fantasy.
Lit is very careful about spam and product endorsement. This is a free site that endorses nothing but sexual liberation, depravity, and sometimes a mixture of both.
Actually my take is that its just good knowledge of the product, if I were to guess, the writer is/was a smoker. Why? Typically Virginia Slims are smoked by women, this was a culture Virginia Slims evolved over a period of time, just as Marlboro pursued the idea that cowboys and manly men smoked Marlboros.
Weird Harold
Opinionated Old Fart
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Nope. A Smoking Fetish is no more offensive to me than a foot fetish -- I don't understand either one, but I generally don't bother to read fetish stories, (unless theiy're about a fetish I happen to have.
)
Anna_Malia75
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I had to laugh at "bordering on marketing." It is obviously worse than "offensive."
"Darling, cover your eyes! Those two people over there are marketing!"
J
JAMESBJOHNSON
Guest
A few years ago this state got very creative with clove cigarettes.
It was legal to make them. It was legal to sell them. But it was illegal to possess them. The state taxed them, smoke shops sold them, but cops arrested you if you had them on you.
I think this is where we're headed with tobacco.
It was legal to make them. It was legal to sell them. But it was illegal to possess them. The state taxed them, smoke shops sold them, but cops arrested you if you had them on you.
I think this is where we're headed with tobacco.
amicus
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Yesterday, 11:36 PM #8
waratah
Virgin
~~~
I see the threadstarter has not been back for a while and my intuition tells me, might not be pleased with the direction it went, regardless, welcome to the forum waratah, nice to have you in the mix....
content of this rather surprised me, but in a pleasant way...
amicus...
waratah
Virgin
~~~
I see the threadstarter has not been back for a while and my intuition tells me, might not be pleased with the direction it went, regardless, welcome to the forum waratah, nice to have you in the mix....
content of this rather surprised me, but in a pleasant way...
amicus...
