Survivor: Australian Outback Uses iMacs To Hit The Internet [Updated]

It is with a certain amount of feeling somewhat unclean that we bring you the news that the producers chose Indigo iMacs to be the computers for the "Outback Internet Café." We arenit making this up. In what could be counted as the product placement score of all time, Survivor: Australian Outback plastered iMacs all over the screen during a segment that allowed the participants to chat with friends and family through the Internet. In an even more twisted twist, they made the friends and family of the participants "compete" for a chance at a longer 30 minute chat. Again, we arenit making this up, but if you watch Survivor, maybe you already knew this. :-) According to the Survivor Web site:

One wouldnit think that in the middle of the Australian Outback it would be possible to chat online with loved ones from home. But thanks to technology, thatis exactly what the Survivors were able to do at the Outback Internet Café. Host Jeff Probst explained that each Survivor would be able to say a quick hello to their families; then, their loved ones would play a game in which they would answer questions online. The Survivor whose family answered the most questions correctly would win a 30-minute online chat with the family and a $500.00 Internet shopping spree with which to buy gifts, using a VISA card, in order to send their love back home.

Speaking of product placement, can you say "Visa?"

This information comes to us from Observer Bandit:

They used PowerBooks on the show, too, but the Apple logo was obscured on them, making me think that Apple didnit provide them. The peopleis family members had PowerBooks and the iMac was out in Australia

We would like to thank Observer Bandit for his information and Observer Charles for bringing this whole thing to our attention. You can find more information on Survivor: Australian Outback at the showis Web site. On the Episode 12 Story page, you can find the above picture as well as another iMac image, including larger versions of both images.