• by Nina Lentini  @Nina_Lentini, November 1, 2007

A segment on Monday night's "Colbert Report" on Comedy Central mentioned several brand names and showed their products, leaving folks at one company quite amused.

In "Hail to the Cheese-Branded Killings," host Stephen Colbert, who is also a candidate for president, poked fun at rival John McCain. He quoted the senator as having told an audience at a Smith & Wesson firearms factory in New Hampshire that "I will follow Bin Laden to the gates of hell and I will shoot him with your products."

Colbert called this a new marketing trend called "branded killings," in which McCain hyped not only himself but the war on terror and a product made by the people he was talking to.

The comedian then went on to ask, rhetorically: "Who wouldn't want their product associated with Bin Laden? I know that Little Debbie [snacks] would love to have that kind of product placement."

Not to be outdone, Colbert addressed Isotoner gloves, saying he would strangle Bin Laden "using your products." "Head On, I will apply your product directly through his head. And, Cinnabon, I will give him a Cinnabon."

Karen Gailey--pr manager for Focus Brands, which makes Cinnabons--found the mention flattering. "He's a great guy and pretty darn funny," she told Marketing Daily. "We've made our way into pop culture.

"We have, behind the scenes here, some folks that can be pretty tongue-in-cheek," said Gailey. "And we know our Cinnabon is an indulgent, decadent treat."

No one from the other brands mentioned had anything to say about the unusual exposure. Even Frito-Lay, which makes Doritos, did not answer inquiries about its brand appearing over and over again on the show, even becoming part of the "Hail to the Cheese" title.