It would seem there is a hierarchy of what company or product is worthy of a Canadian artist's endorsement.

Hair colour is preferable to lipstick.

Lacoste trumps KFC.

And Jell-O is a definite winner.

Musings by Canadian chart-toppers who've recently shilled for products on television suggest a shifting tide in what's considered selling out.

The music and voices of today's artists - even the independent, van-touring, politically conscious underground acts - are appearing in propaganda for large department store chains and chic fashion lines.

But that's not to say all principle has eroded.

Underground favourite Leslie Feist says she allowed her hit song "Mushaboom" to back a preppy Lacoste ad but has turned down repeated requests for junk food endorsements.

"You make your choices (about what to promote) based on how much you can stomach," Feist said in an interview earlier this year.

"I said no to tons of stuff, all sorts of things in my own life I would never consider eating or drinking like Coca-Cola or McDonald's or Kentucky Fried Chicken. I would never put that stuff in my body so the last thing I want to do is put my song in there to convince other people to put it in their bodies."

"I prefer doing it for things that aren't products that end up on the market but ... for the postal service or for the metro system," said Feist, whose says she's endorsed products in foreign ads.

Winnipeg-raised singer Chantal Kreviazuk says she has no problem appearing in an ad for L'Oreal's Garnier Nutrisse Cream hair colour line, but found certain offers to promote lipstick and makeup taboo.

"I love L'Oreal as a company, they have a major consciousness thing that they've started to put into place over the past several years and they've done great work with programs for women," said Kreviazuk, who became the first Canadian spokesmodel for the brand.

"I'm not really anti-corporation, I'm anti-bad corporation."

Times have evidently changed since enraged Beatles fans protested Nike's use of the song "Revolution" in a commercial.

Although indie and underground performers have traditionally been among the most reluctant to wade into the marketing world, lately they've seemed to embrace the opportunity for massive exposure.

A Zellers campaign started last year famously boosted the career of Bedouin Soundclash and has featured tunes by the Be Good Tanyas and Toronto buzz band the Golden Dogs.

Jim Guthrie's insanely catchy song "Hand in My Pocket" in those goofy Capitol One ads instantly reached millions.

The tactic seems to be playing well with fans.

"I had the TV on today when the commercial came on. I was half paying attention when it occurred to me 'Hey! that's Joel Plaskett ... holy hell in a Zellers commercial! Cool!' " one fan writes on the blog site Spine.cx after recognizing the track "Nowhere With You."

"I think it's great!"

Ed Robertson of the Barenaked Ladies admits he gets a bit of an ego boost to catch his work in unexpected places like movies and commercials but was mostly motivated by the challenge when he agreed to craft material for Jell-O.

He said he spent just 45 minutes writing and recording the lighthearted track on his laptop on his basement floor.

"I thought it was going to be a demo and then maybe we'd record it later, and they ended up using that version," Robertson says incredulously. "And it was part of this international campaign."

Extra income has been the biggest impetus for Feist's foray into the ad world.

"It's enabled me to eat, you know," Feist says simply.

But wrestling with her ethical limits has been difficult.

"I still don't really know what my position is, but I know when it's time to say no and I know when it's time to research further."

Kreviazuk says times are different now.

"I think integrity is changing, which I never though I would say, but it is," said Kreviazuk, who's also done a clothing endorsement.

"I think we definitely view things differently now. I think on some levels we are lowering our standards but on others, I think we're just a changing society. Nothing is black and white."