Why Would You Even Mess With Anthony Bourdain, SRSLY, Dumb Move

Anthony Bourdain is pissed at the Travel Channel. During the last two episodes of his eight season run, they ran a commercial for a car that used his image and voice without his consent — explicitly against his contract and wishes. He vows to do something about it, but in the meantime, his essay is a really thoughtful look at the evolution of brand and product integration in TV shows, including his own experiences with it. Superb.

A response written by a woman who works as a producer for reality TV is equally compelling. She recounts a story about the increasingly ridiculous requests she got to “direct” kids to talk about grilled cheese in a certain way to appease the cheese brand sponsor — not for a commercial, but for a TV special on the country’s favorite mom.

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