Sammi from 'Jersey Shore' gets all PMS-y with Betty Crocker app

Though I hate to trash-talk my own gender, and falling back on an old trope makes it even worse, but I feel compelled to share my impression of a PMS-themed partnership between Betty Crocker and Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola. Why bother to link the deal with "that time of the month" since Sammi seems like she's always on the rag? Fans of Jersey Shore, are you with me? On to the specifics: Betty Crocker, for its Warm Delights chocolate desserts, has launched a free iPhone app called PMS SOS that sends out coupons and gives women pre-packaged excuses for their tyrannical and/or irrational behavior. For guys, there are instructions on how to give foot massages, advice on what to say (or better yet, what not to say) to the women in their lives, as well as pre-written excuses for leaving the house. Hey, couldn't those all apply at any time of the month? There's also a Facebook page that could be used to vent about the horrors of menstruation but will probably have lots of chocoholics raving. Betty Crocker, a brand that will forever be linked to the '50s in my mind, is trying to show a little zeitgeisty humor here. Not a bad idea. But again, Sammi? I think it'll take more than a Molten Chocolate Warm Delight to sweeten that sour puss.

Oh, Betty Crocker Warm Delights, why must you tease me so?

We can all relate to those moments of impatience when we're waiting for our favorite baked treat to warm up. That's the thinking in some new ads for General Mills's Betty Crocker Warm Delights brand, showing three women making faces on the other side of a microwave window. ("Just add water and microwave," the product's instructions say.) The ads (each woman has her own spot, in addition to the combo spot shown here), by McCann Erickson in New York, mark the brand's first return to TV advertising in more than a year. They're part of the Betty Crocker baked goods brand's strategy to tap into the recession-driven comfort and indulgent foods trend. It's also accompanied by a Facebook sampling push, as well as an interactive game that encourages "me time!" Now, that's exactly what BrandFreak needs. Wait, there's another story to cover?