Please, sit down and remove your Peterbilt hat: there's something you should know about the upcoming long-haul trucker documentary Drive and Deliver. Sure, the movie is heart-wrenching portrayal of the ups and downs of the trucking life-the long nights, the long days, the lengthy amount of time spent in a sitting position. But all those truck-porn shots of "the behemoth LoneStars, their chrome and oversize grilles gleaming brightly"? Bought and paid for, my friend. The movie is an ad. And maybe the most efficient product placement of all time! Drive and Deliver is directed by Brett Morgen, who also did The Kid Stays In The Picture. But the entire thing is a $5 million marketing scheme by truck maker Navistar International. So while there's a rich history of companies sponsoring their own shows (the "Colgate Variety Hour"), and a rich history of product placement in movies, the idea of bankrolling an entire documentary starring your own company's product gives twice the impact, in a more subtle fashion. First we got previews at the movies. Then we got ads at the movies. Then we got ads in the movies. Now we have movies that are ads. Well, at least our precious TV shows are safe from ads running during the show. No, they're not. [NYT, B&C. Related: I have a shiny nickel for anyone willing to go through NYT ad reporter Stuart Elliott's stories for the past year and see how many times he uses the phrase "branded entertainment." I bet the answer is "many."]