Can I get a side of organic national TV exposure with that, please?

– Wild Oats Markets, a Boulder-based natural foods chain, was rumored to have provided gift cards and sponsorship to “The Real World” Denver cast and crew while they were in town.

– Naturally, this would be in exchange for them shopping at Wild Oats and providing some on-air publicity for store. We jumped through a series of phone call hoops to find out whether or not that was true…

– It all started as a few readers spotted the cast and crew shopping at the Capitol Hill Wild Oats at 900 E. 11th Ave. over the past couple months (read our post about it right here).

– Then we got tips like, “I hear they have coupons to go there, or some kind of gift cards they got to get groceries… I bet that is why they travel so far out of the way to go shopping there.” Another reader said, “I have heard that Wild Oats was sponsoring ‘The Real World’ house. Probably providing lots of free food in the hopes that they get some free product placement when it airs…” (emphasis added)

– I started by calling the Capitol Hill location and asking if anyone could talk about it, knowing full well they had all likely signed waivers preventing them from spilling any details. Employees who answered recommended I talk to store manager Jason Bedsaul, although when I called back the next day I was told he was in meetings all day.

Have some fruit. Seriously. It’s good for you.

– One friendly, anonymous employee told me, “I know part of the promotion was with the crew. I believe they have gift cards, but I wasn’t part of the deal and didn’t work the promotion.”

– I was then given to Wes Kruse, in charge of marketing for Wild Oats in Denver. He was exceedingly polite but ultimately said, “It’s something I can’t comment on because I signed a wavier.” He also said the corporate marketing team in Boulder was likely responsible for setting up any kind of deals with “The Real World.”

– So is Wild Oats sponsoring the show or the house in exchange for publicity? “I can’t discuss the details because we signed a confidentiality agreement,” Communications Manager Krista Coleman told me this afternoon after checking with her superiors yesterday (she was also exceedingly polite).

– Hmmm… it reminds me of when we contacted an Outward Bound board member about whether or not “The Real World” Denver cast were working for them as mountain guides. That board member declined to discuss details because of a signed waiver.

– In other words, if it wasn’t true, they would have told us. Instead they said they couldn’t talk about it, more or less confirming for us that yes, they were working with MTV.

– In any event, I know there aren’t any “All the President’s Men”-style revelations here, but don’t be surprised when you see lots of prominently-displayed Wild Oats-brand swag on the show when it airs later this year. What better way to localize the kitchen than with hometown groceries?