I know that in a free market and free society that advertising plays an important roll. I recall as a child that there were television comercials from the Ad Council that stated “Without advertsing you wouldn’t know”. All very true I’m sure, but apparently there is no limit to the places we are to be exposed to marketers. I have no real desire to constrain the free exchange of ideas but…

I came across an article that said that soon CBS will be advertising the Good Morning America program by placing ads on eggs. Yes, soon millions of Americans will see an ad first thing in the morning, without turning on their TV, listening to the radio, or opening a newspaper. Simply fixing breakfast makes you a target.

If the idea makes you feel a little queazy don’t worry just reach for an airline sickness bag. However, if that bag comes from US Airways it will have advertising on it as well. The airline has announced that they will be placing ads on their airsickness bags starting this month. The new ads are expected to raise $10 million for the airline. It is difficult to imagine what companies would want their products associated with vomiting. Perhaps PeptoBismal or Imodium should get in contact with US Airway.

“You are making a move from talking to people, to having the people talk about you,” says John Condon, of Leo Burnett USA in the article on Yahoo News. Condon’s agency is not involved with any of these unusual campaigns but he makes a good point. I’m talking about it now, you are reading about it and I suppose that is all the advertisers are after in the first place.

Something that bothers me about this, and I love technology, is that as technology expands we are sure to find ads in many other aspects of our lives. A worst case scenario is presented as a joke by the popular animated series Futurama that takes place 1,000 years in the future. In the series the characters are subjected to ads that are broadcast into their dreams. I do not look forward to the time when that recurring dream about Marilyn Monroe involves her breathlessly telling me how much whiter my teeth could be with Gleam brand toothpaste.