FX Goes Mad With Product Placement

For a hefty dose of product placement, all one has to do this week is check out a recent episode of FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia in which Coors Light and Dave and Busters get heavily pimped. No wait, they are salaciously slathered upon us in a way that makes one want to barf! Of course, that could have been the entire point of it. all. Anyway, here it is.

As Long As You Blog with Integrity, What's a Few Freebies Between Moms?

While Steve's away playing at conferences, I debated running the latest nude Lego print ad from Istanbul--or chumming the waters and pissing off as many blogging groups as I can. What to do, what to do. *flips coin* Paid reviews and Mommy Bloggers it is!

So the FTC and the National Advertising Review Council are set to announce what they intend to do with blogs and the issue of disclosure.

Basically, Big Blog... Brother will be watching.

To be fair, it's not just MBs, but any blogs where ads, promotions and reviews are involved. Then there's the issue of whether compensation affects objectivity or not. You can't discuss the topic of monitoring blogs for questionable things like hidden endorsements without also mentioning the groups most likely to warrant that increased scrutiny, namely, paid reviewers and... Mommy Bloggers.

more »

Imagine That: A Treasure-Stuffed Bag You Don't Have to Nick.

Handbag designer Rachel Nasvik promotes fresh wares with an urban Quest for ladies that lust for free stuff.

96 of her handbags were hidden in public places around NYC, filled with girly things like lip gloss, bobby pins and personalized playlists; as well as a note spouting the campaign manifesto: "You didn't find this bag, this bag found you." Lucky finders can keep 'em.

Rachel's Twitter is loaded with cryptic clues about where the bags can be spotted; her blog also sports images of discovered ones.

...But How Does This Solve the Problem of Phallus-Shaped Pop-Ups?

Now your second head has an ally: a third eye, right where it counts. To encourage more illicit behaviour in inappropriate places, Brazillian adult site Sexy Clube sent a rear-view mirror to the homes of its customers.

The gooseneck mirror attaches by suction to the back of your monitor. Its purpose is to give you a, uh, heads-up when Bossman is about to catch you in the act of surfing titty. Thus equipped, Sexy Clube hopes it'll stimulate annual subscription renewals.

Probably doesn't help that the back of the mirror reads "Sexy Clube," though. Nothing screams "PORN ADDICT!" like porn merch!

Still, nice effort by DM9DDB/Brazil.

Madonna's Not the Only One with Adoption Troubles.

Score one more for ad creep. You know those small blue adoption signs off to the right shoulder on almost any major highway? Well, get used to them because they're not going anywhere. While driving through CT recently, I noticed an outdoor sign for the Luv Boutique. No big deal, except that I saw an adoption sign for the same place. Pick anything, a cause, a celebrity, a drug, anything, and chances are there's now a group willing to adopt asphalt in support of it. Socialists, libraries, geocachers, gay and lesbian community services, a guy named Jonathan, men in crisis and of course, these people. Although, it's not a bad idea. Tailor social media sites to relevant areas? Score! "This next stretch of barren road, devoid of people and real interaction is sponsored by Twitter."

A High School Sports Series That Doesn't Involve Nike?

Now it's New Balance that's doing the web series thing with Season in the Balance. (I'm saying that a lot lately. Web series is the new last year's YouTube contest?) Anyway, nice series about a high school lacrosse team, (The Canandaigua Braves), that were given $60,000 worth of gear and then followed around and recorded. (See clip after the jump.) Production quality is as good if not better than the usual reality fare. Props to Momentum Worldwide and Tangerine Films. No cell phone quality footage of cafeteria fights. (Maybe on the DVD extras.) Think Friday Night Lights with lacrosse sticks.

more »

Vespa Does 'I Love You Man!' Cross-Promo Thing -- Poorly

In an ongoing misguided effort to make itself more appealing to a demo somewhat broader than Euro-philes and homosexuals, Vespa's inked a cross-promo partnership with Paramount to promote I Love You, Man, a comedy about two dudes that "test and stretch the boundaries of friendship in adventure after adventure."

Apparently a lot of those adventures involve a "fun and fuel efficient" Vespa LXV 150, which I guess is somewhat better than the bunk motorbike that served Ernesto Guevara and Alberto Granado so well in The Motorcycle Diaries.

Those inclined can enter a MySpace contest to win the Vespa used in the film. To get involved, you'll have to submit an example of how far you've gone for a friend. Deadline's tomorrow (although we PROMISE you the pressie was sent a mere TWO HOURS AGO) -- and the link, myspace.com/iloveyouman, doesn't seem to be working. This was the closest we could get.

The poster at left is available as a free download on Vespa's website.

Campbell's Soaps Up, Casino Stimulates, D&G Rebrands

- Mediaedge:cia brokered a deal that'll result in two Campbell's Soup executives appearing in All My Children tomorrow. They'll be playing themselves. (Photo cred: ABC.)

- Mohegan Sun -- you know, the casino -- debuted its Stimulus, Recovery and Rebound Package. Think gambler giveaways, deep discounts and a "Business Bail Out" program that includes free gaming lessons for corporate clients.

- LA-based David&Goliath has rebranded. Check out their new look.

MacGyver Meets MacGruber on Saturday Night Live For Pepsi

So these aren't Super Bowl ads but they are probably better than most of what we'll see during the game. I mean seriously, what's better than MacGyver stuck in a product placement scenario gone bad? Ok, a lot but still. These Saturday Night Live skits are funny and the do a great job illustrating the increasing insanity of product placement.

See the three skits here, here and here.

Schick Slips Lemondrop Ladies Branded Content

Schick Wilkinson-Sword teamed with AOL's Platform-A to launch branded content sponsorship on AOL's female lifestyle site, Lemondrop which boasts 16.4 million monthly unique visitors and 477 million monthly page views.

The campaign, called "Stocking Stuffers," will have Lemondrop editors create original content for the Schick's brand, with posts such as "Best & Worst Guy Gifts," "Dating Survival Tips During the Holidays," and "Genius Gifts from the Drugstore." The program launched on November 25 and will run through December 26, 2008.

So go have yourself some of that new fangled sponsored content