So, I was watching The Daily Show, and this commercial came on for Rhapsody, Real’s subscription music service. It was a cheeseball talking head commercial akin to the 30-second infomercial, telling you to call some 800 number or go to www.103.freerhapsody.com — boy, that’s safe looking site — to get Rhapsody. What was interesting was that “Real” was not mentioned at all!

Perhaps Real is giving up on their brand… or perhaps they’re letting any random schmo advertise and get bounties for Rhapsody sign-ups (wouldn’t be the first time). But man…. it’s like giving away your branding to anyone. Perhaps not a bad thing given Real’s steller stock price, but hey, not like Microsoft has done anything with its price for a couple years either…