Michael Ian Black riffs on Public Relations

Last night I went and saw Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black (probably best known for doing Sierra Mist commercials and VH1’s "I love the 80s") do stand-up at the Metro in Chicago. I’ve been big fans of both since they did "The State" on MTV long ago, and I’m constantly evangelizing their movie "Wet Hot American Summer" and the short-lived Comedy Central series "Stella."

When Michael Ian Black came on stage, he started riffing on public relations, even namedropping Marshall McLuhan and his famous saying, "The Medium is the Message." He also expressed his belief that the Nazis lost World War II because they had "bad PR," and from there his routine quickly delved into material inappropriate for this blog. ;)

Somewhat ironically, a few months ago my girlfriend and I were asked if we knew who coined the saying "The Medium is the Message." While we were familiar with the quote, neither of us knew to credit McLuhan. Since that day we’ve noticed this saying and McLuhan’s name repeatedly popping up in the strangest places. I guess I never realized how well-known it was outisde of college communication classes.

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