Red Lobster Placement Almost Clever

I don't mind product placement when it's clever. Tonight I am torn.

Throughout tonight's episode of The New Adventures of Old Christine, there was a running Red Lobster theme. Throughout the episode, Julia Louis-Dreyfus craved their seafood.

Interestingly, the product placement was not entirely flattering. Old Christine kept trying to scam a free birthday cake, and there were no blatant Red Lobster logos. One might even have wondered whether it was a product placement.

Going into the final break, Matthew (Hamish Linklater) offers to buy Christine a "whole bucket of fish."

Fade to black.

Fade to ... Red Lobster commercial.

Almost really clever. But also kind of cheap.