Now, this announcement certainly isn't a reason to buy Apple stock. But, from a branding perspective, Apple should be pleased that its name will be reinforced in the minds of all those Idol-happy kids out there; grabbing such mindshare equity is key in the company's eternal fight against Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and its PC dominance. Remember: the iPod and iTunes platforms are catalysts, hoping to turn many of the users of such devices into future owners of Apple hardware.

As for the stock, if you're looking for a reason to be interested, look no further than the fact that the share price, which was nearly $203 on December 27, now is trading near $125 (as of this writing, at least). I'm not saying that it's necessarily a buy now, either, but if you were looking at the stock at $200 and thought it might be tempting at that price, then you better be doing some due diligence now before the market eventually turns away from its current bearish inclinations. In closing, let's hope that Steve Jobs makes an appearance on American Idol as a guest judge -- I'd love to see him pull a Simon and call one of the contestants dreadfully awful.