TBS keeps doing the meta-shill thing

some time ago i commented on a phenomenon on TBS where in between shows they featured short clips of comedians doing stand-up routines curiously revolving around the consumer product featured in the subsequent commercial.

e.g. "so he says 'I can't believe it's not butter' and I'm all 'I can't believe you always leave the toilet seat up'. am i right, ladies?"


well the evil marketing geniuses at TBS have done it again with My Boys, the sportswriter-lady-that-pals-around-with-a-bunch-of-guy-friends sitcom that is "the funniest show you should be watching".

smart people that they are, in order to rectify the "should be watching problem", TBS sandwiches My Boys in between episodes of the popular syndicated show The Office.

that's not the evil genius shilling part though-

last night, while waiting for the second Office half-hour we left the station on TBS (score one for TBS) and My Boys played out its story. During the opening there was some bit between two 'My Boys' wherein one complained that the other always kept singing annoying jingles that get stuck in his head all day; to wit, the accused replied with a sing-songy bar of "Nationwide is on your siiiide!"

fairly harmless in and of itself, until the first commercial break rolled around and - small world! - the first featured ad is for Nationwide Insurance with its hauntingly familiar tune.

that coupling would be bad enough right there, but then the My Boys writers go back to the well later in the episode when one My Boy reassures a second My Boy by stating "don't worry, i'm on your side", which reminds the second My Boy that the first My Boy being on his side is "just like Nationwide Insurance".

so there you have it - a glimpse into the future, the bitter fruit born of the seeds of wanton commercial-skipping that were sown by our Tivos and DVRs - the unholy merging of comedy and advertising.