It's well accepted that television goes through an innovation-replication-saturation cycle. Everything that works well is often immediately copied because there's no need to reinvent the wheel and risk is a scary word in business. So as annoying as Steve the Dell Dude can be, he was bound to be replicated.

And replicated he was. I just saw a Taco Bell commercial that used the same premise. It was a slightly geeky buy mostly charming college kid hawking the product to a friend. Nothing amazing, but I just think it's interesting.

Has anyone else noticed similar commercials? Any Wendel the Wendy's Dude or Michael the McDonalds Man?