Whenever I watch a Thunder game and the obligatory Love's commercial airs, I always think "Can't a company worth billions of dollars make a decent TV ad?"
Seriously, the Love's family forks over big cash to have their gas station logo awkwardly plastered front and center on the team's jerseys, yet when it comes to creating a decent television spot for the games, they re-use some 30-second spot narrated by the HR lady that looks and sounds like it was made for new employee orientation training.
Maybe that’s because they spend all their ad money on awkward product placement.
In last night's episode of The Last Of Us – the decent-enough HBO prestige series that's set in a zombie apocalypse that was ignited by a fungus pandemic – a derelict Love’s sign got a few seconds of play during a montage scene where the two main characters cruise through middle America.
Check this out:
Yep, whether it’s present-day Americana or an apocalyptic zombie future, Love’s is always “the heart of the highway.”
I don’t know if Love’s (or Arby’s) had to pay for this product placement, but it was a frighteningly-realistic call by The Last of Us producers, because if a fungal outbreak ever does lead to a real-life zombie apocalypse, I'm pretty sure it would originate in a Love's bathroom.
One odd thing about the Love’s product placement was it shared a highway sign with Arby’s. Shouldn’t that have been a Subway or Godfather’s Pizza sign instead?
I actually did some hard-hitting investigative research and discovered there are some Love’s / Arby’s combos sprinkled around the country for those travelers who apparently want instant diarrhea while making a pit stop.
I also discovered there are real-life people who take pics of travel-stop highway signs and put them on the Internet!
Love’s wasn’t the only place with an Oklahoma connection to get a few minutes of fame in last night’s show. 30 minutes into the episode, the two main characters hid from bad guys in a bar in Kansas City called the Hi-Lo:
For what it's worth, I think the Hi-Lo from The Last Of Us was inspired by this one in Manhattan, KS, but whatever, I’m staking an Oklahoma City claim.
Anyway, even though the main two characters are kind of annoying, The Last of Us is a pretty good show. I'd encourage you to watch it. Maybe in next week’s episode, someone will be eaten alive inside a Hobby Lobby or Braum’s!
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
