Yes, I love technology...

but I like marketing, too. Here's an article about product placement, along with the Q&A from Stuart Elliott from the NY I included below:

Q: I was watching "Live with Regis and Kelly" one day last week when Ashton Kutcher was a guest. He and Regis and Kelly were talking all about some strange new commercial for Skittles and it all sounded like a product placement. Am I right, or just suspicious?

A: These days, dear reader, when it comes to branded entertainment, you usually cannot go wrong assuming a paid placement was involved. In this instance, however, according to Joan Buyce, a spokeswoman for Masterfoods USA in Hackettstown, N.J., the Mars Inc. division that sells Skittles candies, "there was no placement or any effort on our part" to include the branded discussion in the show.
The commercial is getting some attention from non-celebrities, too, as evidenced by coverage in the April 18 issue of Adweek. In a two-page feature on "Creative Best Spots" for March, the commercial, called "Sheepboys," depicts two sheep with the faces of young men discussing new blended Skittles flavors. Young men are the target audience for Skittles, usually those with human hands able to open candy packages. Ms. Parpis calls the spot "absurdly funny," while Mr. Alexander says it "nails the Idea Trifecta: weird/funny/logical," adding, "My inner 14-year-old loves it as much as my outer 42-year-old."

Q: Just a note to tell you about a recent drive in the car with my 6-year-old daughter. She shouts out, " 'American Idol,' 'American Idol!' " I couldn't figure out what she was talking about.
I asked her, "Honey, why are you yelling 'American Idol'?" Then she pointed out the Ford dealership and begged me to turn around so she could ''see the 'American Idol.' "

A: And some people wonder why marketers are increasing their spending in the realm of branded entertainment. Thanks, dear reader, for that potential straw in the wind. Let us know in a dozen or so years whether the first car your daughter buys is a Ford.