Stealth advertising & ad-creep

The LATimes has an article called "The pitch you won't see coming" on ad-creep and "stealth" strategies- like SubservientChicken from BK, film shorts made by advertisers (BMW, American Express, etc), and promoters in disguise as normal folks in the crowds-  becoming more and more common in advertising today. (free reg req)
Read on for an excerpt...

Advertisers are hiring companies that do nothing but "outsource the influencer," which means finding the hippest person on every block and sending "street teams" to "seed product" to them, creating "organic" buzz. Magazines are hosting branding events -- celebrity parties, concerts and fashion shows -- paid for by their advertisers, whose products end up in the hands of the "cultural influencers" attending.

There's a lot more in the article discussing both sides of whether this is a good thing or a bad thing and how consumers will react to it over time. Definitely worth the read.