The Texican Whopper, according to Burger King, is “inspired by the land where a man ‘ain’t afraid to sink his teeth into something hot and spicy.”

The burger consists of a flame-grilled Whopper topped with taco-coated chili con carne, spicy jalapenos, onion, lettuce and Canjun mayonnaise.

The television commercial described the new Texican Whopper as “the taste of Texas with a little spicy Mexican.” Literally depicted by a tall Texan cowboy living with a vertically challenged Mexican wrestler, named “Just a Little Bit.”

To view the commercial on youtube click here.

Mexico’s ambassador to Spain wrote a letter to Burger King regarding the inappropriate way the Mexican flag is displayed in the  advertising campaign, as well as the improperly used stereotypical image of Mexicans.

Burger King has apologized for the advertisement and stated they have “made the decision to revise the Texican Whopper advertising creative out of respect for the Mexican culture and its people.”

There are strict rules about the use of the Mexican flag.

Now, product placement isn’t exactly a new concept, I know. We’ve all seen plenty of examples in television and film. (My personal favorite is the tongue-in-cheek montage in Wayne’s World that plays on Pizza Hut, Doritos, Reebok, Pepsi, and Nuprin in quick succession.) But this Sokolove plug is a new one on me. For one thing, Sokolove isn’t selling a product like pizza or sneakers—he’s selling a service. That’s unusual to begin with. But there’s something else going on. He’s also local—complete with a thick Boston accent—and his ads are typically low-budget and embarrassingly self-serious. He’s an expert at doing the Concerned Adult shtick. He’s so good, in fact, that over the years he’s practically become a parody of himself. And now he’s on Scrubs, parodying the parody?

Despite the weirdness, the cameo was actually a shrewd move on Jim’s part, in this blogger’s opinion. Sokolove’s bread and butter is personal injury—everything from auto accidents to mesothelioma. With that breadth of service, it pays for him to reach a lot of people. And Sokolove’s success owes a lot to his willingness to go where potential clients will see him—on TV. His approach may be more Bernie & Phyl than Bear Stearns, but it’s proven enormously effective over the years (I know who I’m calling if I find asbestos in my workplace!).

So, what’s next? Cy Sperling on The Simpsons? Ernie Boch on 30Rock? Stranger things have happened…

Perhaps that is because, according to a recent study, only 30% of clients are happy with their law firms. Loyalty, like a partner’s practice these days, is portable. And with people being marketed to everywhere they go, word of mouth, business cards, and golf balls with the firm’s name on them are no longer cutting it. So law firms are acting more like businesses and less like, well, law firms. Here are the days of client-teams, marketing departments, and tag lines. Firms are dropping names off their letterhead for branding purposes and working with advertising agencies to develop websites that are as well designed as they are technologically sophisticated. And, like all good things, success begets success. When one thing works, firms are replicating it and wanting more—a new web-site becomes a new print campaign becomes, well, billboard advertising.

Which brings me back to the billboard and my thoughts: I came to the same conclusion that I suspect a lot of people in the legal profession did: what is good for business may not be good for the profession. Any time someone goes too far with something these days, there is a backlash. Just ask Don Imus.