I was wandering thru the Big Potato Supermarket today and noticed something quite disturbing. I could feel the evil side of the force. Darth Vader was staring out at me from Diet Pepsi multipaks, from Cheez-Its, from potato chip bags, from the frozen food case.
Excuse me, but when did ultimate evil become OK to use to market your product?
The Darth Tater by Hasbro (think Mr. Potatohead) should have been the first clue. Since I got home I've seen Darth battling the Burger King. The movie hasn't even opened and I'm afraid of the cereal aisle. The Lucas marketing machine is in full force.
But what if this bad boy persona turns into a regular marketing ploy? We may only be a few corporate mergers away from Bin Laden staring out at us from our microwave popcorn, or Adolph Hitler from our white chocolate bars. Or imagine Richard Nixon gazing coolly on your box of Luden Cough Drops. (They couldn't afford to license Donald Trump or Jerry Tarkanian.)
Does everything have to be commercialized and become a commodity? And why am I feeling that the movie is a marketing platform for video games, wookie dolls and R2-D2 Pepsi vending machines?
By the way, anyone interested in buying a case of commerative Jar Jar Binks Pop-Up Lick-em sticks?
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