• Los Angeles Times, Tuesday, April 14, 2009 10:45 AM

Dan Neil says that he can't pretend to be offended by the new Carl Jr.'s ads that feature "Top Chef" host and mega-model Padma Lakshmi making "hot sweet love to a Western Bacon Cheeseburger," which, incidentally, brings 720 calories, 33 grams of fat and 1,410 milligrams of sodium to the bedroom.

"Young men are coarse, callow, emotional imbeciles with suicidal dietary habits. In other words, from a marketing perspective, these ads are perfection itself, practically verité," he writes. "Meanwhile, if I put on my magic deconstructing spectacles, I can see neo-feminist subversion in these messages. Note the tagline ... : 'More than a piece of meat.'"

Hmmm.

Anyway, Neil's newly ordained coverage of the advertising and marketing world from the West Coast is becoming a must-read. Let's hope the L.A. Times can continue to give him a pulpit.

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