Via Pajamas Media, I saw this Times article about a coming change in television advertising. The goal is to keep people watching instead of reaching for the remote or charging off to the kitchen.

Remarkably, they're considering bringing back an old idea from the 1950s -- integrating advertising content with the show and/or its characters:

In the so-called golden age of television, when shows did not make it on the air without sponsors, the commercials were often integrated into the programs. That helped keep viewers tuned in.

General Electric is evoking that era in commercials in new-media outlets like video on demand and the Internet, which bear titles like "G.E. One-Second Theater" and "G.E.'s Imagination Theater" that echo the days when the company sponsored "General Electric Theater."

Viewers in the 1950s and 1960s also kept watching commercials because the spots were often delivered by the hosts or stars of the shows in which they appeared. The industry coined a term, cast commercial, to describe spots in which, say, Jack Benny and Don Wilson bantered about Jell-O or Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore puffed Kent cigarettes together.

The test of the Showstoppers segments during "Hogan Knows Best" on VH1 featured a comedian, David Wain, who appears on another series on the network, "Best Week Ever."

What next, ABC asking Dr. McDreamy and Dr. McSteamy on "Grey's Anatomy" to diagnose ailments during commercial pods?

Unfortunately, other than dangling the hint at the end, the Times doesn't explain just how to use the "Grey's Anatomy" cast in the commercials in such a way as to keep people from running to the kitchen or hitting the remote.

Obviously, this makes it my responsibility to butt in and help out.

Considering that the show's fans are doubtless familiar with what's been going on, it would be a simple matter to capitalize on the "f" word choking controversy.

"Hi, I'm Isaiah Washington! As many of you know, I was sent to rehab after I called my friend here a word they won't let me use on TV and then choking my colleague Dr. McDreamy. And let me tell you, rehab therapy is expensive. While I'm now completely cured of my violent homophobia, let me assure you that what happened to me could happen to anyone! That's why we're all sitting here tonight to tell you about an affordable health plan...."

I'd sit and watch it. Even though I've never watched "Grey's Anatomy."