I have some insight to this one...One of the writers or the actor that plays Jarod is a PEZ collector - I've been collecting for years and it's come up at every convention I've been to (yes, I'm that sort of dork) and we used to try to play "spot the PEZ" in each episode. Those were written in on purpose as a tribute to PEZ - they didn't get any kickbacks, just a collector/fan involved who got 'em out there ;)I've done a bunch of searching and I can't find the exact info on which one is the PEZ collector - but that's why it's there :)   See 4 other replies

I recently got my 16 yr old daughter hooked on this show. she and I agree that when the show stopped showing Jarod's "fascination" with a different food or toy each episode, it lost some of its appeal. Jarod's lost childhood was portrayed through those items and the loss of that took away from his complexity....genius/innocence. Although we still enjoyed the show in the latter seasons, where he basically stopped doing anything that didn't help him in his hunt for his past, we yearned to see his face light up again at the discovery of shrinky dinks, or bubble gum that doesnt stick.   See 4 other replies

Daaaaamn!; I remember the pogo ball!
My big sister had one; those were definitely easier to use than a pogo stick.Just sucks that if I tried to use one now, I'd likely destroy it on the first bounce...   See 4 other replies

I don't mind the product placement too much even though as you said, it is mostly toys and candy. The only one that really was too heavy-handed was the Twinkies placement. They went too far with that one.
That said, I definitely have fun with this show's version of product placement. Moast shows just depict the characters using the products normally. In this show, they give us a glimpse into Jarod's agile genius mind by showing us the off-the-wall ways he makes use of the products he encounters in his journey. My favorite would have to be what he does with Silly Putty :)Oh1 and also... it's a real trip down memory lane for me! :) Toys and treats that were the "must-have" items of my childhood :D
I'm just waiting now for them to mention Pogo Balls. Anyone else remember/had those?
I had a Pogo Ball that looked like a menacing hog-man head, I would hook my toes under the hog-man's ears to keep myself attached to the pogo ball. :)
Forget the Wii... gimme a pogo ball anyday!   See 4 other replies