Product placement has been on my mind (and in my face) lately. I've been aware of it for a long time, but I haven't paid much attention to it until recently. Is that because I was a mindless, unquestioning consumer of television and other media, or is it because product placement used to be done quietly, even subtly, without fanfare from those responsible?

Don't answer that. At least let me define subtle first.

Subtle is a box of Cheerios in the cupboard on the set of Seinfeld. Jerry has to eat some kind of cereal, right? You could even argue that subtle is James Bond driving an Aston Martin. James Bond has to drive a cool car. It might as well be an Aston Martin.

Subtle is not a slow pan over baskets of branded personal hygiene products on the set of Survivor. It isn't entire episodes of The Apprentice based on tasks designed to market Playstation 2 or Crest toothpaste. It certainly isn't weeks of press leading up to the debut of the Staples MailMate paper shredder on an episode of The Office.

These days, advertising is blatant and unabashed. It's as though the Emperor, having been correctly identified as being stark naked, is saying, "Yeah, I know! Got your attention, didn't I? Now let's talk about your car insurance rates!"

Let's just say that if Home Improvement was a new show breaking into the midseason TV lineup, there's no way on earth they'd feature the fictional Binford line of power tools. It would be Black & Decker or DeWalt all the way.

Writer, director, and announcer Ken Levine wrote a funny article poking fun at the increasing use of product placement by sponsors and production companies. He also demonstrates how consumers have embraced product placement by pointing to SeenON!, a website where we can buy the products featured on popular TV shows, movies, and other media.

It would seem that as consumers, we're not as grossed out by the naked Emperor as we used to be.