If you needed any more proof of the importance of advertising and consumer brands in  popular culture,  look no further than the latest edition of Monopoly, the world’s best-selling board game.

The Monopoly Here & Now Edition updates the traditional board pieces for the 21st century- with McDonald’s fries, a Motorola Razr, Starbucks coffee, a  Toyota Prius, and a New Balance running shoe.  What’s even more amazing is that none of these marketing icons paid for placement in the game.

Rather, Hasbro wanted to offer consumers modern touchstones that might resonate more strongly than Turn of the Century household goods like a top hat or a smoothing iron.  They also let the public vote on new landmarks and US cities for the board, and raised the "Pass Go" bonus from $200 to $2 million.

Naturally, marketing execs from the featured companies were ecstatic to be tapped for inclusion, to judge by interviews in today’s New York Times. 

I think they missed a few early 21st century icons, however.  How about the iPod?  Google?  The SUV? Tivo?   A generation from now, what objects do you think will come to symbolize this era?

Misha Cornes