Now This is Adverrtising

Advertising used to be a black art. It required subtlety and innuendo, vague nudging and then gentle calls to action. Whispers and suggestions. Before you knew it, you're at a bar saying, "Come to think of it, I'll have a Heineken." But we're too jaded and cynical for most of those methods now. Sure, lingerie and exotic cars can still be sold that way, but now we want you to make us laugh while you're selling your stuff. Baby e-trade is a good example.

Below, the self-mocking, self-aware ad reaches its high point. Nothing hidden here. No attempt to be subtle. Just product, in your face, done by a couple of established sketch comedians using one of their well-known sketches as the vehicle. From SNL last night, Will Forte and Kristen Wigg in "MacGruber" selling Pepsi with the real MacGyver, Richard Dean Anderson.

The first one establishes the joke as a product placement.



The product placement gets more blatant.



Then, the over-the-top payoff.



Congratulations to Pepsi and their new agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day for pulling off this stunt. You think it's just another episode of MacGruber as they go into the commercial break, then you are sucked in by the ruse and you don't even care. It's comedy to sell Pepsi. And they even talked MacGyver out of retirement for the series. I can forgive that stupid logo change now.

But I'm a Coke man. As much as I admire this work, I'm not switching unless the restaurant I'm in only offers Pepsi. Honestly, my taste buds aren't so refined that I could actually tell much difference, but if I'm standing in front of two vending machines selling competing soft drinks, I'm probably going for the Coke. It's just a loyalty thing they conditioned me into believing years ago. If Pepsi wants to buy away my loyalty, we can talk.

Review of the Keifer Sutherland Whisper-Fest

Fresh out of the drunk tank and ready to save Africa The World, Keifer Sutherland returned last night as "Jack Bauer" on Fox's 24 - Redemption, a two-hour teaser to the upcoming season. Seeing Jon Voight in the first couple of minutes was an instant downer. Seeing Madame President Allison Taylor, very obviously modeled on Hillary Clinton, right down to the five-syllable name, was even more depressing.

Jack is his usual self. Uttering cliches in his husky whisper (while squinting) and full of self-loathing for the things he has done, he is now some sort of farmhand missionary, working with an old Special Forces buddy (who you know will be dead by the end of this thing) at some school for lost boys in Sengala, a fake African country, lest the writers piss off any real African countries.

Bad men want the boys as soldiers. The US Government wants Jack under arrest. Can they all make it to the embassy in time for the last (shades of Vietnam) helicopter? Yes. Yes they can. But first, Jack must be tortured (it's in Sutherland's contract) and also kill a regiment of thugs by himself.

Cisco gets its usual product placement shot, this time as the secure visual communication tool of choice for none other than outgoing president Powers Boothe, who snarls and drinks in his very Powers Boothian way.

The show was also peppered with commercials for some charity that helps lost boys in Africa escape bad men who want them as soldiers, with Kefier himself doing stand-ups for the agency, leaving you with that "Kirk Cameron talks to kids about drugs" feeling after a special edition of Growing Pains.

It was a long wait and a big let-down. But Jack is now redeemed and he can go back to killing with wanton abandon. In January.

Brits Spotted Drinking American Piss

The year: 1972. Mick & Co were long past their initial introduction into the world of advertising, but here we see them getting a little more sophisticated, opting for product placement over outright shilling around the era of Exile on Main Street.

"Awright, I'll hold the beer for the camera, but I'm not singin' any bloody jingles."

"That's fine, Mick. Can you turn the can just a little so we can clearly see the label? And, Keith. I'm gonna need you to hold that spot in front of the amp for another couple seconds...and...got it. Thanks, Keith."

(These images were not Photoshopped)