Professorial Product Placement

“Viewing the latest Lady Gaga video, with its ten product placements, I’m inspired by the thought: Why don’t professors do product placements, too?”

wonders Eric Schwitzgebel, Professor of Philosophy at University of California at Riverside. There are, according to the professor, many potentially lucrative and as-yet-untapped opportunities – for example to promote products such as fizzy drinks or high-fashion items during presentations, lectures, and even in academic publications. Thus he has recently made the following standing offer to prospective advertisers:

“For $2,000,000 U.S., I will give over three inches square of real estate on my check [sic], for an appropriately tasteful tattoo by a company that’s not too evil. (Evil companies will have to pay a surcharge sufficient to bring the overall utilitarian considerations back into balance.) To preserve what’s left of my dignity, I will immediately donate half the amount to Oxfam – which should, conservatively, save at least ten people’s lives.”

Adding :

“(That seems worth it, doesn’t it? Would you want to face the ten people who died because you weren’t willing to tattoo your face?)”