Advertising on the bombcast

So on the latest bombcast there was a whole lot of jerking off to a monitor provided to tam for free. It felt like an ad (literally gushing for minutes about it making him a better gamer in valorant) and isn't what I come to gb for. Maybe this wasn't intentional, but wanted to get my two cents in. Not how I envisioned the next stage of gb.

They get sent games for free. They've always been sent hardware and usually don't talk about it. Why is this different? Because Tamoor was positive about it?

I have no reason to believe Tamoor was given this monitor on the condition that he talks about it glowingly. He talked about it because he genuinely liked the monitor. GB was also not sponsored by mister or the playdate or any other hardware they've positively talked about.

They can never talk about good hardware ever again then. Although aren't they going to do a show about this specifically soon? Man, they must be really raking in the cheese!

If you stop and think, It's pretty obviously not an ad. But while we're stopping and thinking, It was very ill-advised. And even the tiniest bit of forethought would have seen the potential for it to be seen as an ad/endorsement for product.

It was way out of the usual tone for bombcast material. Almost devoid of the usual critique. If I were a maker of a hypothetical luxury item and I sent one into the bombcast, and then they started having a conversation suggesting that listeners might consider investing in said hypothetical luxury item if they hadn't already. Then I'd be fucking stoked. Even better if they mention my brand by name.

Honestly, the most charitable take one could have (and the one I hold) is that it was just innocently garbage-tier content.

It's a very difficult line in today's world. I feel like when I talk about a podcast I like, I come across as advertising it or being inauthentic. Growing up in a world with tons of ads, chatbots and scams, we have been conditioned to be wary of everything. There are swathes of people that are "influencers" and make a decent living at it, so I fully understand the caution/concern. Was it maybe over the top for historical GB? Yeah, probably, but this is new GB. However, have you heard how Tamoor has gushed over other things? What if this was a glowing discussion over breakfast from some restaurant? Would you think the same way? What if it was Dan? Do you think every time he talks about his love of Taco Bell, it is an advertisement?

I'm not saying you're wrong for feeling the way you do, just suggesting to consider the other side. You're listening to a 2-3 hour podcast with people talking about things they like or don't like. If every time someone talked about enjoying an item they were required to have already figured out the negatives and discuss them, it would really reign in the fluidity of it all.

I want to get Rorie's curved monitor.

Gonna lock this one up. I think there's totally a place for constructive feedback, but you gotta be a bit constructive in your feedback.