Thursday, August 02, 2007
Scooby Snacks
One of my favorite brands of humor in television shows is the recurring joke. One of the best ways of doing this is with a particular product that keeps showing up episode after episode. I call this type of item a "Scooby Snack" after the munchie curbing bribe product from Scooby Doo. Now a lot of times real product placements can be Scooby Snacks. On Roswell they drank (and sometimes stole) lots of Snapple, as they have on 30 Rock. Wow this is Diet Snapple, it tastes like regular Snapple. MADtv continues to feature the Toyota Yaris for some reason. And Burger King was a favorite of many Arrested Development characters.
While too much product placement can draw attention away from the story, just a little can be very funny. As I learned from Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, specific is a lot more funny than general. Calvin's dad wasn't just a nameless corporate drone, he was a patent attorney, even more boring to Calvin.
Two of my favorite summer cable shows have their own "Scooby Snacks". Psych has a constant obsession with pineapples. While Burn Notice loves yogurt...as evidenced in the following clip. Spies love yogurt.
If you can think of other Scooby Snacks, generic or product placement, please add them to the comments.
