Clorox Hops Aboard the Soap Opera Redux

You have to be pretty old to remember the original slew of soap operas. While many are currently suffering cancellation, there was a day when soap operas ruled the airwaves with millions upon millions of viewers. And while they were always advertiser supported, they got there name from the fact household brands such as P&G, Lever, and Colgate-Palmolive sponsored and produced the shows when they were first broadcast on radio and then television.

As daytime television audiences dwindled, soap operas lost their luster and, sadly to many, have been getting cancelled after 25 - 35 year runs. But, leave it to the web to rescue and rejuvenate just about anything. While episodic online shows aren't a new thing and have been produced for quite some time, the genre is far from the mainstream glory days of televised soap operas.

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iPad Drinkspirated, Games Socialized, Honda Gets Naughty

- Absolut is out with an iPad version of its Drinkspiration app.

- To help raise money for the United Way, Colle+McVoy has launched Happy Exchange where everyone is invited to join the effort by posting their smile for just $1.

- Calling McDonald's a "hip hangout" is never a good thing. Especially in a forced product placement.

- Former buy.at executives have launched Performance Horizon Group which is out with new products aimed at improving campaign management for agencies and lead generation for publishers.

- Gossip Girl's Blake Lively has been tapped (not literally, of course...because that would be gross) by Karl Lagerfeld to front his Winter/Spring 2011 Chanel ad campaign.

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'Days of Our Lives' Riddled With Horrific Product Placement

The Denver Egoist gathered up a few product placement clips from the soap Days of Our Lives. We have to say, these placements are the most heavy-handed, in-your-face, horrifically written product placements in existence.

Seriously? The brand and the writers couldn't have worked together to come up with a more subtle and effective placement? These placements literally transform the daily drama into a full on commercial. And a really bad one at that.

Granted, the writing on soaps sucks so perhaps expecting a well crafted product placement is asking too much but an illiterate imbecile could have come up with a better solution than the writers of these disasters did.

Some of the worst advertising we've ever seen.

Infomercial Product Placements Coming to a Movie Near You!

As if movie product placement wasn't already prevalent enough, now, it seems, it's going to become even more nightmarish with the addition of infomercials within a movie. BJ Fazeli of Kymaro Health & Beauty has plans for product placements in films this year.

His newest product, the Kymaro Rhythm Rocker, which Lacey Schwimmer and Karina Smirnoff of Dancing with the Stars are promoting, will make an appearance in an un-named movie later this year. In the movie, an actor will be watching an infomercial for Kymaro products, and the toll-free ordering number will be visible.

Of the placement, Fazeli said, "We don't expect people in the theater to write down the phone number but when the movie goes to DVD, people can pause it and write down the number. Maybe we can help Hollywood solve some of their financial issues. We won't ignore any medium that will reach potential customers who want to look better and have $50 in their pockets."

Meet 50 Cent, Strippers on Wheels, NBC's Olympic Ad Hopefuls

- 50 Cent and vitaminwater in the lab working on free iPhone apps and a chance to meet Fiddy, I said Fiddy.

- Swing by NBC and pick up a 2010 Winter Olympics slot or three.

- Move over People of Walmart, People of Public Transit. (Via.)

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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.

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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."