Absorbing the Market

I just got back from the grocery store and was surprised to see a new product--Spongebob Squarepants cereal. My surprise was not that this animated character would whore himself out to a cereal company but rather that this had not happened already. Look around the aisles and you will see this geometric pot scrubber on crackers, macaroni, ice cream, fruit snacks--even obvious products. And this onslaught will only get worse come the holiday season with the release of The Spongebob Movie.

Of course all this consumerism doesn't sit well with others. Despite the fact that kids have eaten macaroni for decades the Center for Science in the Public Interest seems to think cartoon characters are behind the food's popularity. This is akin to putting Morrissey or Richard Linklater characters on the wrapper of Ramen Noodles and saying that is why so many destitute collegians eat the product. I wonder what the group behind "food porn" has to say about the other dangerous practices this mutant invertebrate promotes.