Last October, the blogosphere was full of commentary regarding the blatant product placement used in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s episode “The Great Recession” (see clip ).
Subsequently, Glenn Howerton – “Dennis” – took to his Twitter to defend the show:
11:05 AM Oct 8th : Just got back from vacay. Lotta love n quite a bit of hate on last week’s recession ep. Sounds like 50% got the joke and 50% did not
11:08 AM? Oct 8th: Although I will say FX was NOT supposed 2 accompany the ep. w all those fucking D&B’s and Coors commercials. That’s what fucks it up.
11:10 AM Oct 8th: If u watch the ep. w no commercials on DVD or iTunes or whatever u will like it a lot more. I promise. We learned our lesson on that one.
But did they? Cue this season’s premiere, “Mac Fights Gay Marriage,” in which both Coors Light and Subway were featured heavily. The question is, does this count as a joke too? Or is it simply blatant selling out? Dennis?
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2 comments
Jeff says:
Oct 7, 2010
I think a Coors Light napkin holder in a bar setting isn’t quite the same. The subway spot is a little different, but then again, it is just a setting. There is no mention, if I recall, of being at Subway or the quality of their products.
The Dave & Busters episode reminds me of the Arrested Development episode which included blatant promotion of Burger King–AD pulled it off much better with the cartoonish characters of Tobias Funke and Carl Weathers.
sneaka4 says:
Oct 7, 2010
Thanks Jeff! Absolutely, there’s no matching the tone in David Cross’s voice when he says, “It’s a wonderful restaurant!” The line certainly becomes a little blurry. Is it okay to go over the top with product placement for the sake of the joke? Does setting the Reynolds/Ponderosa scene at Subway tell us something about the characters and how/where they live? Maybe so. But then where is the line?