Is MC Hammer the "face" of the recession?

A former co-worker of mine wondered over breakfast today when people will begin to see a "face" to the recession, as in something like long unemployment lines that make it impossible to forget that the economy is down.

My suggestion for was that if any recent developments are icons for this recession, it's the Cash 4 Gold commercials. If anything signals that times are hard, it's an advertising blitz for a company that asks television viewers to sell personal treasures for quick cash.

This idea prompted another Sun reporter to mention the Super Bowl commercial featuring MC Hammer and Ed McMahon, both of whom have had their own financial problems in the news.

I was also told that NPR had some kind of discussion on Hammer's commercial appearance, but I have to admit that I haven't heard it.

So yeah, this is the kind of stuff we talked about.