It’s almost impossible to miss the outpouring of Starbucks ads centered around the new instant superstar, the Via. At least the company hopes that this will be star quality (this product has been touted for over a half a year now).

The ads show an upbeat flair matching the belief that there’s a lot of anticipation surrounding the intro. Besides seeing it already in full display at Costco, it’s receiving attention from end-of-season campers who feel they have solved one of their biggest fears–no hot coffee. Of course, they could just follow Billy Crystal (“City Slickers”), and grind their own tentside.

There’s also news that the early clock cleaning reports from both McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts may now be a piece of past history. The only negative news lately is that some songs have not been promoted as heavily as artists would like. Not everybody’s complaining.

As Starbucks sales continue to improve, we might be able to use that piece of news as an economic barometer: Is the economy back on track to support our caffeine habit?

Love it, as the ads say,”A product you can get through TSA.”

As long as airlines still offer hot water, we’ve got a match.