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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!
