Kmart Corp., Tennis Bracelet

Talk show host and actor Rosie O'Donnell and actor/director Penny Marshall (formerly Laverne of "Laverne & Shirley") ham it up as they eye a tennis bracelet and Penny expresses amazement at the low price on the bauble. "Kmart--who knew?" asks Penny.

"I knew," replies Rosie. "You never said anything," says Penny, childlike.

"What else are you not telling me?" Answers Rosie, "Tons of stuff." "Like what?" "That thing." "LAST YEAR?"

We're not let in on what that exchange is about, but it certainly raises questions about the nature of their intended relationship.

For years, O'Donnell kept her sexuality an open secret and then came out openly lesbian. In the past, she often toyed with the matter publicly, sharing a joke with Ellen DeGeneres about both of them being considered "Lebanese" and again with openly gay actor Nathan Lane (star of "The Birdcage") at Broadway's Tony Awards where she referred to him as her "beard" -- a reference to dating a person of the opposite sex to cover up homosexuality.

Industry sources said that the company tested O'Donnell's marketability as various weekly tabloids outed her over and over but found that her likability remained strong among Kmart consumers.

Most intriguing of all, Kmart had another TV spot it ran briefly some years earlier under the theme "Show Your Colors" that many understood to show a gay couple shopping. Kmart vehemently denied the men were supposed to be gay.