In the first six months of this year, Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) was mentioned on network television 3,054 times in product placements, according to Nielsen data cited by the New York Times.

Think about it: every time Paula Abdul gulps down a Coke -- at least that's what it says on the can -- on American Idol, that's put on the tab of the Atlanta-based company. Neither is it coincidental when a brand is mentioned on shows like Big Love, American Dad or Scrubs.

Welcome to the post-commercial world. The theory is that the 30-second spot is so 2001 and that people -- particularly the young ones advertisers want to attract -- are savvy enough to avoid most advertising. That's why product placements are soaring.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, for one, is concerned that the public may not always be aware that someone is trying to sell them something. That concern is justified when it comes to children who are bombarded with show after show that are just excuses to sell them crap.

Unfortunately, though, the era of product placements has only begun.

Subversive, controversial, and consistently funny, The Simpsons has been a staple throughout my adolescent and adult life. After 20 seasons on News Corp's (NYSE: NWS) Fox network, Homer's brood and all of everyone's favorite oddballs and ne'er do wells from Springfield will be trekking over to the big screen.

The feature-film version of the animated sitcom debuts in theaters July 27, and the marketing blitz is already underway. Today, 7-Eleven - a subsidiary of Seven-Eleven Japan - said it is converting 12 stores (11 in the U.S., one in Canada) into Kwik-E-Marts, the convenience store featured in The Simpsons and managed by beloved feature player Apu Nahasapeemapetilon (unknown by my spell check). Simpsons-themed products will be available not only in these converted locations, but in all 7-Eleven stores. Check out the list of the made-over Kwik-E-Marts here.

Other corporate sponsors of the Matt Groening-developed cartoon include Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), which offers many Simpsons-themed games for its Xbox 360 gaming system, and JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU), which recently proclaimed itself the "official airline of Springfield."

Speaking of Springfield, Simpsons fans have spent the better part of 2 decades debating which American Springfield provides the setting for Homer and friends. Fourteen Springfields across the country, from Oregon to Vermont, are now under the microscope competing for the right to host The Simpsons hometown premiere. Head to USA Today by July 9 to cast your vote. (Psst ... Illinois!)

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

On the one year anniversary of BloggingStock.com's launch, I took a look back at our inaugural posts-

Sarah Gilbert was writing about the phenom YouTube, and AOL's (Time Warner, NYSE:TWX) investment in a rival Veoh.

Anne Metz wrote about the success of Skype and Vonage in the VOIP business. Skype (eBay, NASDAQ:EBAY) had just hit 100 million customers. If you still want some Vonage stock, you can get it real cheap.

Brian White reported on the growing dissatisfaction of WalMart (NYSE:WMT) suppliers with the company's requirement that they maintain inventories of product at the beck and call of the retail giant.

Howard Tsung related Steve Jobs' assurance to Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stockholders that, regardless the purchase of Pixar by Disney, his role in Apple would remain unchanged.

Sarah also wrote about the one-day 11% drop ($31 billion) in Microsoft (NYSE:MSFT) stock and how some readers were livid at the press, blaming the messenger for the message. By the same thinking, perhaps Sarah should be credited for Microsoft's subsequent growth.

Brian filed a story about a new Sam's Club product; for $30 grand, one could buy a junket with Jimmy Buffet of "Cheeseburger in Paradise" fame.

Anne Metz covered AOL's hopes that product placement with a new TNT series, Saved, as well as their hit The Closer, would help push the pay service to new heights. How'd that work out?

Brian launched our obsession with Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) with two stories, about implications for the company of widespread click fraud, and its interest in ad-supported municipal wireless.

Looking back, I'm struck by how quickly the market changes, especially the e-economy, and how on top of trends our BloggingStocks writers have been. Pretty good work for a one-year-old, eh?
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American Idol didn't just jump the shark last night. It transformed itself into a nauseating celebration of corporate sponsorship and celebrity self-indulgence that was breathtaking to behold.

Though AIDS in Africa and hunger in America are serious issues that deserve the public's attention and charitable donations, I had trouble taking "Idol Gives Back" seriously. Then again, my cynicism kicks into high gear whenever I see a gaggle of celebrities trying hard to convince me that I should care about something. Actors and corporations have a right under the first amendment to express their political views, but I have just as much of a right to ignore them.

"Idol Gives Back" was all about the close bonds between Hollywood and Wall Street.

American Idol makes big money from the advertising that's integrated into its show such as the glasses on the judges' table that have the Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) logo on them and those idiotic Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) commercials featuring the contestants doing renditions of pop hits that have as much musicality as a high school rendition of "Grease."

As an Idol viewer, I can live with all of that stuff. Heck, I even put up with the hapless Sanjaya Malakar, who was in the audience last night.

But host Ryan Seacrest took America's top-rated program into new territory last night with his prodigious thanking of all of the sponsors, including Fox's parent News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) and ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM). He made these multi-billion corporations sound almost saintly at times.

Earlier today, Tom blogged about how product placement is helping companies keep their brand names in the public eye despite the continued encroachment of digital recording devices that allow a program's viewers to easily zip through the commercial breaks. In another strategy to keep couch potatoes on the couch during the advertising breaks, ABC -- a unit of Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) -- is considering a change in the way it breaks for commercials.

One suggestion is to seamlessly segue the program into the commercial spot, keeping the audience engaged "so they don't feel they've gone into the commercial," the network's president of sales and marketing noted. The CW Network, which is owned by CBS (NYSE:CBS) and Time Warner (NYSE:TWX), is also contemplating a change in its advertising module. The network is selling commercials that resemble programs, with the products incorporated in the "plots" of the ads. Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) has already signed up for one of these commercial blocks, referred to as "content wraps."

From my childhood, I remember a delightfully engaging series of Taster's Choice commercials starring Anthony Stewart Head (who would later soar to fame as Rupert Giles on TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer). I'm all for bringing back serialized creativity to help the consumer cause -- I just can't guarantee it will keep my husband away from the fast-forward button.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.