Great American advertising goes to the dogs

Get the popcorn and the dog biscuits ready. Tonight is the first episode of Greatest American Dog, a new reality series on CBS.

It airs at 8 p.m. ET.

Seems the network is pouring on the advertising. This article talks about putting ads on hot dog stands (a bit of a stretch, in that the "greatest" American dog will not be something one consumes) and hiring dog walkers to put their charges in vests and collars that promote the show.

And Reuters has a review of the program. If Letterman hadn't invented stupid pet tricks, what would a headliner writer do?

In the show, 12 people compete along with their pooches for a $250,000 grand prize.

In full disclosure, I really think that all reality shows are stupid. (Though I watch Top Chef and am trying to stomach — ha! — The Next Food Network Star.)

The long pans across the faces of the contestants, the music that portends bad things, the incipient dialog that if it were scripted (?) the writers should be fired. All pretty dumb.

And, of course, the contestants saying, "I'm not here to make friends."

I'll bet the dogs are there to sniff ... well ... friends.

So all that said, check back for my week-by-week summary of the dog-eat-dog world of reality television.

And may the best pooch win.