You can picture it now: An advertising agency standing before the formidable board of rum lords Joseph E. Seagram and Sons, pitching an earth shattering idea in a pitch that will make all other contenders pale by comparison...

Seagrams: Is your idea original and innovative?

Ad agency: Hell yeah!

Seagrams: Will it sell boatloads of our Captain Morgan rum?

Ad agency: Hell yeah!

Seagrams: So what's your original and innovative idea that'll sell boatloads of our Captain Morgan rum?

Ad agency: Fake facial hair!

Seagrams: Excuse me?

Ad agency: Hell yeah! Not only is it original and innovative, it's daring, avant garde and cutting edge! It speaks to the rebel inside us all! You know how when rebellious, cool, hip, with-it people see a poster or playbill on the street, they pull out their Avery Marks-A-Lot Permanent Markers and deface the models or stars on it by drawing rebellious, cool, hip, with-it fake mustaches on their rebellious, cool, hip, with-it faces?

Seagrams: Uhh..... yeah. Sort of.

Ad agency: Well, we'll beat them to the punch! We'll draw rebellious, cool, hip, with-it fake mustaches on our rebellious, cool, hip, with-it models to get across the point that Captain Morgan Rum is a rebellious, cool, hip, with-it rum!

Seagrams: We like it! No, we love it! Here's a boatload of money!

Ad agency: Hell yeah!

(end of hypothetical historical scenario)

__________

There's only a couple of small problems...

Check out the following Captain Morgan ad from February 16, 2001.

Ad agency: See!? It's an original, innovative, daring, avant garde and cutting edge idea! It's rebellious, cool, hip and with-it too!

Now, check out this Captain Morgan ad from February 9, 2001.

Ad agency: See!? It's got legs! It's an original, innovative, daring, avant garde and cutting edge campaign! It's rebellious, cool, hip and with-it too!

Now, check out this Ol