Airborne takes over CES; germs flee Vegas!

Now this is targeted marketing in action. The most talked-about unofficial sponsor at CES 2007 is Airborne, the pseudomedical cold remedy that was "created by a schoolteacher!" There are Airborne signs all over the convention center, including, appropriately enough, a long banner that blankets the space between two escalators in the Central Hall--as if to remind you that after touching that germy, grimy escalator handrail, you'd better pop some serious vitamins. I swear I keep hearing people mention it when I'm walking around the show. And check out the big van they've got parked out in front of the convention center. Genius.

Whatever they spent to be here, it's worth it. See, if you've never been to CES, the thing you need to know is that it's basically the Hot Zone. Everyone gets sick when they go to CES. If there's a bird flu epidemic brewing, CES will be the epicenter. I can't imagine why...apparently something about the enormous crowds of people carrying a cocktail of international viruses and bacteria, the constant flow of late-night parties, the ever-present cigarette-smoke cloud, the dry and nasal-passage-destroying air, and the daily walking-to-the-point-of-exhaustion just isn't great for your immune system. But hey, now that we have all this Airborne hanging around, we'll all be totally fine, right? Right. Right.