Major corporations are going after the small-business market, and for good reason. There are anywhere from 12 million to 25 million small businesses in the U.S., and they all need retirement accounts, credit cards, accounting services, stationery, and on and on.

Given that small business owners can be difficult to reach through television or advertising, three corporations have recently cooperated on a unique plan-producing NBC's television show, "The Restaurant." Billed as "the ultimate reality show," "The Restaurant" takes viewers behind the scenes for the launch of chef Rocco DiSpirito's restaurant, Rocco's, in Lower Manhattan. Audiences follow along as the enterprising chef lives through the traumas and triumphs of starting a new business.

The show's sponsors, American Express, Coors, and Mitsubishi, advertise before and during the show, and even insert themselves into the action. Viewers are treated to shots of diners at Rocco's using their American Express cards to charge meals, of bartenders serving up glasses of Coors, and of Rocco driving around in a brand new Mitsubishi SUV.

While critics suggest that the sponsors of NBC's "The Restaurant" don't accurately portray the realities associated with start-up businesses, TV viewers don't seem to mind-and neither do the show's sponsors. American Express, Coors, and Mitsubishi are simply out to attract the attention of a whole new audience of young entrepreneurs, not create award-winning documentaries. Who expects reality on TV reality shows anyway?