Top Chef Shilling

First Tom Colicchio shows up in an ad for Diet Coke that takes a huge swipe at Grant Achatz...



And now Padma Lakshmi is starring in a new bit of food porn (yes, and not in the sense that the food is sexy either) with a Western Bacon ThickBurger from Hardee's...



These ads are terrible. Is there something in the water on the Top Chef set that's affecting people's judgment? Do Colicchio and Lakshmi really want to be associated with Diet Coke and Hardee's, it certainly makes me question their bona fides. I'm not going to drink Diet Coke or eat a Thickburger because of Colicchio or Lakshmi but I will think twice about buying a cookbook or frequenting a restaurant run by either of them because of these ads.

(both via Young & Hungry)