Product placement

Maisie walked into the kitchen. She wanted to make a cup of tea which she’d take up to her room, eager to get back to her fancy Acer Aspire One Happy. It was new, white with pink, had loads of buttons and needed her immediate attention.

When she saw her mother busy cooking in the kitchen Maisie quickly changed her mind from a cup of tea to a glass of water. Maisie’s mother loved to cook despite the fact that she was an outrageously terrible at it.

“Ah, there you are, honey! We can eat in about ten minutes. Would you set the table, please?” Her mother was enthusiastically slicing apples in her Elite Collection™ 14-Cup Food Processor. Since she got this machine two months ago, she was cooking even more. Maisie hated the machine. This shiny expensive thing with all its bowls, blades and discs did not make her mother cook better. And a good cook (like Cindy’s mother for example) didn’t need a machine to cook delicious meals.

“I’m not hungry.” – Maisie said heading for the door. “How can you not be hungry? You’ve had nothing, but a boiled egg in the morning!” “Two. I’ve had two eggs and I am not hungry yet.” “Well then, if you have nothing to do anyway, go bring some food to grandma.”

“You can use my old Navigon to get to grandma.” Maisie’s father entered the room in a rare state of excitement.  “I’ve got the new NAVIGON 70 Plus Europe 23, just had a test drive. It’s perfect!” “Dad, grandma lives across the park fifteen minutes walking from here. What the hell would I need a navigation system for?!” “I’m just saying you can use it if you want.”

Maisie took the bag with Tupperware containers and rushed to grandma. She knew the script by heart: fifteen minutes through the park; grandma on the couch smoking and watching TV; “put that crap in the dustbin, how’s school, get the hell out of here”; fifteen minutes back.  She wanted to get it over with and walked really fast. She stopped half-way when she literally bumped into a man that stood in her way. He was unshaved and looked her up-and-down with a kind of hungry look in his eyes. For a moment Maisie stared at him and suddenly a great idea struck her.

“Would you like some food? My mother prepared it with the help of the Elite Collection™ 14-Cup Food Processor. It’s delicious!” The man stared at her mute of surprise. Masie took seven Tupperware containers out of her bag and pushed them in his hands. The guy looked flabbergasted. “Have a nice meal!” – said Maisie and ran back home to her wonderful white-pink Acer.