• by John Gaffney , April 7, 2003

Sand In The Gasoline: Before I even get into this one, let me say, that I in no way, shape or form believe that anybody at Chevrolet, GM or its Humvee division can be happy about the kind of exposure that its getting right now as the soldier's vehicle of necessity in the Iraqi conflict. No one asked for the Humvee to be plastered all over the TV from noon to midnight. But what the hell, it will have to take it. It is the Jeep of the new millenium. Bigger. Badder. And way beyond the means of any soldier driving it, and way beyond the means of most people at home as well. One well-placed ad executive told me about a week ago: "Watch this. This whole deal is an $80 billion product placement for the Humvee. Hide and watch." That's a gross overstatement. Can't fool me dude. I'd say there are some geopolitical goals, too. The Humvee did have a "badass" print and TV campaign of its own underway before this, remember? If any brand had a right to pull ads during this conflict for fear of looking exploitive it's Hummer. But it's driving all the way to brand legend now, right along side of Jeep. These legendary product/brand placements happen about once in a century, I guess. The Humvee is poised to race away from Baghdad as the car of the year by any stretch. Ride on, big fella. Buy a lotta pages and TV spots, too.

Having Said That: Talk about effective product placements. I saw one of the women's teams in the Final Four wearing the retro Nike Air Jordan's with the black nuBuck leather and I said to myself that 'I have GOT to get myself a pair if those.'

Back To The War Beat: We create and place advertising within a culture, which is why we try so hard to read the signs of consumer behavior in today's geopolitical mess. This isn't strictly an advertising missive here, but somebody recently hipped me to American Pastoral by Philip Roth. If you need to be reminded of what it was like, or if you need to learn what the stress was like in this country when violence tore us apart during the Vietnam War, it is a brilliant and disturbing portrait.

At The Buzzer: I need to see just one more magazine cover with Meg Ryan's face on it. That woman's hair must be more stressed than a loyal Iraqi general.