Ask yourself, "Which of the above has killed more people?" That's right, movie plugs aren't that bad.

If you like movies or even just television, you've undoubtedly seen a shameless plug for a movie at some point. Typically they involve Will Ferrell and his upcoming character. I've heard and read a lot of opinions on how disgusting it is to have to see these fictional characters everywhere. You turn on the TV and there's Will Ferrell playing basketball as Jackie Moon with Bill Walton of ESPN. That's annoying so you turn it off and go to the toilet to take one. Or two. In the process you pick up the latest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and see pages upon pages of Jackie Moon posing with Heidi Klum. You throw the magazine at the bathroom wall in hate. So, why not go back to the TV. But when it turns on, Jackie Moon is doing an Old Spice commercial. Beyond frustrated, you go to the DVR and rewatch the Super Bowl. But don't forget, Jackie Moon will show up at some point for his idiotic (but I laughed) Bud Light spot. It could go on forever, but eventually the movie has to release. It's not just Will Ferrell, though. Every late night show and interview program seems to have Scarlett Johanssen or Natalie Portman plugging their new movie (which looks good) The Other Boleyn Girl. Or Deal Or No Deal brings Cedric the Entertainer in to "help" a fan make terrible decisions. This always makes me laugh because you're asking a multi-millionaire for advice on whether you should take $200,000 or not. Cedric wipes his ass with $100 bills. No, he's there so that the last word on the program can be his plugging his new movie. It's the age we live in and we need to get used to it.

The critics and the writers all want to criticize these tactics of advertising. Yes, it can be annoying when overdone (see any Will Ferrell sports film), but ultimately it is effective. And you need to sit back and look at this from the perspective of a production company. If you have more money than you know what to do with (that is, enough money to dish out $100 million for a guaranteed crap film without batting an eyelash) what's a few more million to advertise it. In fact, I admire the excess.

You can't deny that Jackie Moon and his misfits will bring in the biggest payday of any release this weekend. Why? It's not about making a movie that people hear about and say, "That looks good." Well, that is a contributing factor to box office hits. The real goal in advertising is to get as many people to know about your movie as possible. If I told you once a day for the next 3 weeks that in 22 days the sun is going to be purple, you'd shake your head and call me an idiot. But to hell if you won't look, JUST TO BE SURE, just once, on that day. Isn't that the real goal here. Yes, and it works. So, to all those naysayers who want the viral marketing to stop immediately, step back and look at the big picture. It won't stop. In fact, it may only get worse as the media continues to grow and grow. You Coke bottle. Your IMDB page. Your new iPod. Your Netflix envelope. Get used to it. It's here to stay. And it works whether you like it or not.