Remember That One ‘Smallville’ Episode That Was a Marketing Ploy for...Gum?

In the early 2000s, shameless marketing on classic network shows was not only common but the standard when it came to television programming. Perhaps the most egregious displays of overt product placement came from shows on smaller networks like the WB and its eventual successor, the CW. One show in particular, the hit Superman prequel series Smallville, had a single character often at the center of most of these marketing ploys during the show's earlier years: Sam Jones III's Pete "the Boss" Ross. So, when Pete, who was once Clark Kent's (Tom Welling) best friend, returns in the seventh season episode, "Hero," the entire narrative is framed around this very 2000s style of product placement... And boy is this Stride gum-centered episode a wild ride.