Technology has long found new and innovative ways to annoy us with advertising. Just when you though that businesses had exhausted the avenues by which to pitch their products, you get a text message. From AT&T. Telling you to watch the season premier of American Idol.

The wireless carrier did that yesterday, texting a "significant number" of its customers and telling them to watch the show. AT&T, a sponsor of the show, has the market cornered on Idol voted, meaning that every time the show is on, the country's largest wireless carrier gets a huge chunk of dough.

According to The New York Times, the message urged subscribers to "Get ready for American Idol," directing them to a Web site and promoting a sweepstakes. The company didn't charge users for the message, and let them know that they could opt out of receiving future ones by texting "Stop."

The carrier didn't break any laws--unsolicited texts are a crime only when the receiver doesn't already have an existing business relationship with the sender, which is clearly not the case in this instance.

Still, recipients--particular those who have never voted for or even watched American Idol--are understandably upset. After all, existing contract or no, this is spam, and it's a slippery slope. Carriers like Verizon have long used SMS to promote its own services, but the promotion of something like a popular TV show enters into scary new territory.