Bending the Third Rail
Because We Should, We Can, We Do
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Numb
This is a perfect reminder of just how numb we all become to the insidiousness of advertising:
Product placement (as we saw with the "Baby Einstein" colloquey in last night's SOTU) as a way to close the deficit is brilliant. Why shouldn't Disney pay for that effusive mention from the president of the United States on national television?

I don't think Yglesias goes far enough, though. Every speech, every photo-op could also be sponsored by a different corporation. And just as the sports arenas named Viagra Park and Jonny Cat Field no longer have a civic identity, we could change the name of the White House to the "Halliburton House" (for now --- the next president could have a different sponsor.) Companies would pay billions for that kind of daily mention in the free media.
First off, I didn't even think about the Baby Einstein thing. But yeah, that's a little strange basically doing a commercial for a product during the SOTU. And a product with questionable validity to boot.

I agree with what other's are saying. We could perhaps lower the deficit by selling naming rights to speeches, press conferences, trips, policy initiatives and on and on. There are virtually unlimited possibilities!
Written at 1:02 PM by Greyhair.
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