Call it the Microsoft vision of marketing. Taking everyday folks, or people with one quirky talent, and using them to sell their computers. And hey, it's working out better than their ads with a traditional star like Jerry Seinfeld!

Now Dr. Pepper is in on the deal too. Knowing that their soft drink is prized among MMORPG nerds who need the caffeine and sugar to stay up late playing World of Warcraft, the label recently decided to sign "celebrity athletes" like the Tom Taylor, the 21-year old kid who has a three-year, $250,000 contract to play Halo 3.

And you end up feeling torn, right? Because on the one hand yes, celebrity athletes get an obscene money for their endorsements, just like they get an even more obscene amount of money to throw/kick/hit a ball around. So let's let the skinny ADD kids who can't concentrate on anything longer than three seconds unless it's on a computer screen have their shot at the big leagues.

But. And this is a huge but (just like the ones on the kids who play Halo all day!)…

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