(3 votes, average: 5.67 out of 7)
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Product placement has reached the TV “news.” On the desk, in front of the anchors of Las Vegas’s Fox 5 TV “news” sits what appears to be two cups of McDonald’s iced coffee. (The one that’s giving people explosive diarrhea) Yes, McDonald’s is paying for the coffee to be there.
Hang on a sec - have you looked at the nutritional charts for this stuff? 200+ calories and over 34 7 grams of saturated fat? Holy Crap!
Anyway: Yes, the labels are turned to the camera in an unnatural way. Yes, the pawns smile an unnervingly robotic smile.
But Wait! The best part? It’s not even real coffee. It’s just a plastic simulation of iced coffee. From the Las Vegas Sun:
Two cups of McDonald’s iced coffee (BUY!) sit on the Fox 5 TV news desk, a punch-you-in-the-face product placement (BUY!) to chase down your morning news.
They’ve been on the Las Vegas station set for about two weeks, following the lead of a few TV stations across the country, and they’re still looking every bit as frosty and tantalizing (BUY!) as they were the first day you laid your eyes on them.
But wait, here’s the best part: They’re not real. Fake coffee on the real news, two plastic cups permanently filled with some kind of bogus drink. The anchors aren’t even supposed to acknowledge them, McDonald’s reps explain. That’s part of their genius, my little lambs! They get into your mind without you knowing it. So they just sit there, two logo-emblazoned plastic cups, percolating into the psyche. Made-to-scale models that weigh something like seven pounds each — refreshing, and bottom-line boosting!
Curious what’s in ‘em? From the McDonald’s website, these are the ingredients for a Vanilla Iced Coffee:
Premium Roast Coffee. Light Cream: Milk, cream, sodium phosphate, sodium polyphosphate, DATEM, sodium stearoyl lactylate, tetra sodium pyrophosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium citrate, carrageenan CONTAINS: MILK. Vanilla Syrup: Sugar, water, fructose, natural (plant source) and artificial flavor, caramel color (with sulfites), potassium sorbate (preservative), citric acid, malic acid, Ice.
And are you curious what those long, confusing words mean?
sodium stearoyl lactylate - a solid powder irritating to eyes and skin, and hazardous in case of inhalation.
tetra sodium pyrophosphate - when ingested it can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
sodium hexametaphosphate - the Material Safety Data Sheet warns “do not ingest.” Synonym of Sodium Polyphosphate (above).
More details on the rest of the ingredients over at this website.
Yummy, Yum, Yum! I’m Lovin’ It!
July 24th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Product placement on television? God what a horrible thing to happen. I am so outraged, this is so very awful and unexpected. Why would companies advertise?? why!
July 24th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Wow - How many points did you miss?
1) It’s product placement on what is supposed to be a “Newscast” I can imagine Walter Cronkite announcing Kennedy’s assassination while sucking on a mars bar. Nothing unprofessional about that . . .
2) The products aren’t even real!!! That’s the irony. The “newscasters” aren’t even eating or driving, or drinking, or using the products that they are “promoting”.
3) And the majority of the article was about how freakin nasty the iced coffee’s actually are.
I appreciate sarcasm as much as the next guy but you gotta bring something to the table champ. Product placement is inevitable as the use of DVR’s and the Internet eclipse mainstream broadcasts. The 1950’s model of sponsored shows is returning full force as the advertisers look for new ways to sell you crap you don’t need.
That I understand.
But it has no place in the News.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:17 am
You know, I’m not the least surprised. Fox news is notorious for this kind of trash and always has been. Such as traveling 7 times the speed of light (or something) and that broad cast about the “Sex Box” and many other countless atrocities. This isn’t a big shock for Fox, but the crap they add into the drink?! holy Christ! That’s dangerous! Why the hell is McDonald’s Literally poisoning our country.
This is an Outrage. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Product placement, and a fake product at that, smiling robotic newscasters… But the really scary thing is the commentary from people who tried the product, had the explosive diarrhea, AND WENT BACK FOR MORE!
Is this a great country, or what?
July 24th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
That is absolutely not 34 grams of saturated fat. The list says 7grams for a large and 34% of your daily value of sat. fat. It is certainly still a lot for just a cup of coffee, but it is no where near as much as you thought it was.
July 24th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Thanks Jen - Misread the line after scroooooooolling down the chart. I corrected it in the post.
Cheers!