sponsorship

It's official: Judges on the US version of 'The X Factor' will be drinking from blue cups, not red ones. After weeks of speculation, it's been announced that Simon Cowell has switched allegiances and signed a sponsorship deal with Pepsi.

According to The New York Times Pepsi will be the only season-long sponsor of the new singing talent show. The deal calls for a joint website and marketing ventures, and Frank Cooper, senior VP at PepsiCo, said that the social media and local community parts of the "Pepsi Refresh Project" -- which lets people vote to give grants to deserving groups -- would be used as a template for 'X Factor' promotions.

Simon Cowell was reportedly in favor of signing with Pepsi as a way of separating his new show from 'American Idol,' which is sponsored by Coca-Cola.

Speaking on behalf of Pepsi, Cooper said, "We believe in the power of Simon Cowell." In return, Simon Cowell thanked Coke for its support for 'American Idol' over the years, then said "I do love the taste of Pepsi."

I agree with Bob, Mad Men, a new series coming to AMC, looks quite interesting. It focuses on people working in the ad industry in the '60s, back when smoking and drinking didn't have the stigma it does now. Did you know even babies smoked in 1965? Well, they did, and they loved it.

Unfortunately, the '60s vibe of Mad Men seems to be clashing with new attitudes toward alcohol sponsorship on commercial TV. Commercial Alert has filed a complaint with the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, claiming that Jack Daniel's sponsorship of the series violates the marketing code that alcohol consumption can not be shown in association with irresponsible behavior and lewd sexual situations, even though that's essentially the whole point of consuming alcohol in the real world.

I wrote that last sentence as a joke, but still, Mad Men is clearly going for a gritty, realistic vibe, and ample consumption of Jack Daniel's probably fits right in.

(S04E08) Yeah, I know the title of the episode isn't really "Episode 408," but the real titles never pop up until a few days after the show airs, at least not on the sites I check. If any of you lovely readers knows where I can find the actual episode titles, let me know in the comments. I'll give you mad props.

As a fan of Reno 911 since the very beginning, it's difficult for me to say this: the show isn't as good as it used to be. Of course, when a show is improvised like Reno, there are always moments of genius, but there are just two many instances of the same jokes, or gags you see coming a mile away. The opening scene with the bomb inside the bus would have been funnier had it not been obvious from the beginning that the bus was going to explode.