Today marks an important day in our nation's history.

No, forget that election stuff (well, actually, don't -- you should go vote!). We're talking about the McDonald's McRib sandwich, which is back on the menu nationwide for the first time since 1994. The BBQ sauce-slathered concoction features boneless pork pressed into a vaguely rib-like shape and topped with onions and pickles.

We know of at least one person who is genuinely psyched for the sandwich's return to McDonald's' lineup: Jack Osbourne. On his family's 2002-2005 reality series, the rock star offspring gasped when he spotted the McRib on a McD's menu. "McRib is back!"

Dear Corporate Accountability International,

First, congratulations on the awesome name for your organization. I think you might have just created a new show for CBS. 'CAI: Boston.' From the creators of CSI. A team of social do-gooders investigate corporations and try to stop evil advertising mascots from taking over the world. New this fall!

I picture Tim Daly and Jennifer Garner in the roles (if they're not available, maybe Dean Cain and Katee Sackhoff?).

I have to tell you though, I'm not at all happy about your attempt to get McDonald's to drop Ronald McDonald from their TV commercials and other ads.

How's this for an odd occurrence of non-product placement? On Wednesday night, during the ABC sitcom block -- actually during 'Modern Family' -- there was a commercial for Stouffer's Family Size dinners. The commercial referred to 'The Middle,' making the case for how positive it is for families to sit down and share a meal together.

It was a great idea for a commercial, but did anybody at Stouffer's realize that with the exception of Thanksgiving, the Hecks don't actually cook dinner? They're usually bringing in bags of take out from a burger joint. You see hamburgers and fries and lots of paper products, but it was only for Turkey Day that anybody actually fixed dinner.

McDonald's commercials used to feature H.R. Pufnstuf-like characters and storylines. But they were great. Now we get "I'm Lovin' It," which I think is one of the lamest tag lines in fast food history.

Continuing our month-long look at Christmas commercials, this one features Grimace and Birdie and is from 1987.

Larry King hasn't done a show about the death of Gidget, the Taco Bell chihuahua. Sure, he can do 20 shows about Michael Jackson but not even one about the famous fast food mascot? Luckily we have Conan O'Brien, who shared this clip on The Tonight Show.

Here's what to do with the video below: watch it for about 27 seconds and then hit pause. Can you guess what's special about the commercial? Answer after the jump.

I like seeing commercials from overseas. They aren't usually something we'll see on American television, so it's good that the web can fulfill all of our foreign advertising needs. This European McDonald's ad shows a nightmarish world where two guys share one nose. I can't imagine something that two guys could share that would be so creepy and uncomfortable.

OK, I can imagine one thing.

[via AdFreak]

Both of these fast food mascots will haunt your dreams. The masks they wear, the way they don't talk much (if at all), the way they show up in unexpected ways. It's like getting Jason Vorhees to be the mascot for Dunkin' Donuts. Here are two recent commercials. Let us know which one gets the "creepier" nod.

For once I'm not talking about any of the Burger King spots that have that creepy King guy, with his terrifying blank stare and equally scary son. No, I'm talking about the commercial with the guy hiding in a motel late at night, eating one of the new Cheesy Bacon Tender Crisp chicken sandwiches. A cow shows up at the door to confront him ... because the guy isn't eating burgers.

Huh? Why would a cow -- which is made of burgers -- be upset that a customer isn't eating him or his friends? Does he own stock in the company and wants customers to eat burgers instead of chicken? That wouldn't even make sense because even if the cow did hold some BK stock* selling chicken would be just as good as selling meat. Or maybe this is an example of the "death wish" type of advertising that Pete Campbell talked about in the Sterling Cooper pitch to Lucky Strike?

Even those cute M&M guys don't go around saying "eat me."

*This will probably be the only time in my life that I write about cows owning stock in a corporation.

I don't understand why certain commercials get to become "banned." I've seen a few since the latest multitude of Super Bowl commercials, and most of those have been funnier that anything shown on TV! Who the heck decided these commercials weren't fit for television? There were even a couple of questionable ones shown during the game this year, ones that offended quite a few people. Who cleared those monstrosities?

Case in point, the following "banned" Wendy's commercial, from 2007, for their four-alarm spicy chicken sandwich. The scientist holds said sandwich out to his assistant with tongs, so you know right away this thing means business. I haven't had fast food in years, but I gotta say I started wondering where the nearest Wendy's joint was so I could try one of these bad boys; that fourth "hint" (hit?) of spice is a doozy. Continue on for the video. (And for those who don't get the headline, read up on LOLCats.)

[via Digg]

Here's a story that's bound to bring a smile to your face (it did mine). During the protracted, agonizing Writer's Guild strike, at least one Hollywood scribe chose not to lounge by the pool and wait it out. My Name Is Earl creator, Greg Garcia, decided to "get back in touch" with the TV viewers of America. He took a job at a fast-food restaurant, never letting on to his fellow employees -- or anyone else -- that he was an Emmy-winning writer/producer. As a cashier and occasional janitor, Greg spent the month of January rubbing elbows with the real world. You might wonder, why would he do it?

His answer is simple: "I've wanted to do a book about taking different jobs and what it was like to do them," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "This was the first. It may be a while before I do the second. But it's just about the fact that we live behind gates and work behind gates, and as a writer you start to lose touch with the audience. You start running out of life experience."

Super chef Gordon Ramsay has admitted that he goes to fast food places like Burger King and McDonald's and orders food at the drive-thru...in secret. He goes in a car with tinted windows and calls ahead. Though I wonder who but a celeb would call ahead for a meal at Burger King or McDonald's.

He says that "there's something very sexy about the way they flame grill a Whopper." Um, alllllrighty.

But he's really not a fan of fast food establishments. He says the food is bland and that it's bad for you. Another famous chef, Marco Pierre White, recently said that McDonald's offers great value and Ramsay calls that "utter crap."

The new season of Hell's Kitchen premieres this Monday on FOX.

Remember that alleged "subliminal ad" for McDonald's that popped up during an episode of Iron Chef America on the Food Network? You know, the one that some people were convinced was secretly inserted into the show to make people crave syrupy sodas and lukewarm hamburgers?

It was a glitch. Of course, myself and some thoughtful TV Squad readers knew it all along. I haven't read every blog entry about the incident, but mine was the only one I know of that didn't automatically assume McDonald's was trying some underhanded tactic to make people buy its food. The boring truth is that not everything is a conspiracy; sometimes there's a logical and simple explanation for things.

Besides, all of this attention paid to a minor glitch in the middle of a television program takes away focus from the fact that the president is breeding alien clones beneath the Pentagon and putting truth serum in our toothpaste. Let's focus on the real issues, people.

The magazine Broadcasting and Cable has an interview with Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me and 30 Days fame, but if you don't read that particular mag you can always check out a few extra questions from the interview on the B&C Beat blog. Spurlock talks a little bit about his stint in prison, which he taped for the first episode of the show, as well as the possibility of working on network television in the future. I was somewhat surprised to find out he still eats fast food, but apparently the chili cheese fries at Tommy Burgers in East LA are quite delicious. The new season of 30 Days starts July 26 on FX.

Yup, he finally ticked off McDonald's a little too much.

Just kidding. Actually, he spent time in jail as part of his 30 Days show on FX. The series starts its second season on July 26 with this episode.

Spurlock spent 24 days in a Virginia jail, where officials say he was treated just like any other inmate there. Prisoners were told that a documentary was going to film there, but they didn't tell the prisoners that it was Spurlock's documentary. He was just another inmate while filming went on. Some inmates weren't sure if he was really supposed to be there, but then ended up liking him.

Sorry, but I wouldn't spend 24 days in jail if you paid me, I had my own private shower, and the Pussycat Dolls performed every night.