How about that? Sears wasn't kidding after all; it looks like they're really serious about this whole iMac thing. Yes, we finally saw the long-fabled Sears commercial with three dads who were, in our opinion, showing possibly just a little too much enthusiasm while balancing checkbooks and writing email to government officials via their iMacs-- but hey, we're talking about Commercialville, here, where housewives wax eloquent about the virtues of non-abrasive bathroom cleanser while grinning like synchronized swimmers or those high school cheerleaders who compete in the national finals. The important thing is, Sears is paying to advertise the iMac, and they seem to be doing a pretty good job of it.

On top of that, as promised, the iMac graces the entire cover of the June 13th Sears Sunday circular, at the "Sears low price" of $1199.99-- less than a buck higher than the standard Apple price, which is a huge improvement over the original $1299 sticker price, especially when you add in the 0% financing available when using one's Sears charge card. And get this: the iMac is the only computer advertised in the entire Sears "Electronic Super Sale" circular. That must be some kind of first.

Of course, things aren't perfect by any means. While the five-flavored iMac "flower" does grace the cover of the circular, that particular shot only shows the top of the iMac, and it's not immediately clear that what's being sold is even a computer. "Just plug it in, switch it on and the internet is at your fingertips." Well, it's a step in the right direction, anyway. We'd also like to see the iMac highlighted on the electronics page at Sears' web site, instead of those WebTV thingies. But between the commercial and this latest circular, we've got to say, we're very optimistic that the Apple-Sears partnership will lead to some very good things-- maybe even good enough that we'll stop waking up screaming from Best Buy-inspired nightmares.