There’s no doubt about it: Brands were out to pick up chicks at the BlogHer ‘10 conference in New York last week, and their technique was in no way subtle.

Not that this was a bad thing, mind you. The chicks—a.k.a. women bloggers of any stripe imaginable—had no problem with being courted by marketers hoping to get the army of women of blogging every day to write about their products.

The brand immersion started with breakfast and didn’t stop. Tropicana sponsored the morning spread, which reportedly featured Bruce Jenner pouring OJ. My train didn’t get me into NYC early enough to eyeball this myself, but I did get a glimpse of what seemed like enough breakfast pastry to feed every blogger on the Internet, let alone the Hilton.

BabyBel cheese sponsored the pressroom. I’m shocked, I tell you shocked. Do they really think the media can be swayed by tasty pieces of fermented milk. (Oh you sassy Laughing Cow, you know our clogged arteries so well.)

The totebag given to attendees at registration was already more than half full of swag, ranging from coupons for free McDonald’s salads to “Got Milk” mugs to small duffle bags full of Playdoh.

One attendee told me that at a preshow party the night before, she had already been loaded up with more swag than she knew what to do with. And when she got back to her hotel, more had magically appeared in her room. “I turned around to see a Mrs. Potato Head that I knew I hadn’t picked up,” she laughed. “My son’s 10—he’s too old for that.”

Obviously, these moms know they’re in high demand, and they’re looking to leverage that fact. A morning session on the FTC’s rules about endorsements was packed, and an afternoon session on brand relationship was so popular the doors were closed to latecomers, well outdrawing the sessions in the next two rooms for foodie and sex bloggers. (Branding is sexier than…..well, sex! Who knew?)

And bloggers do seem to get that you can’t just go for the goods. A mom who blogs about her family travels told me she wanted to build relationships with brands, but was concerned about the products fitting organically into what she writes about. She’s had overtures from companies, she said, but nothing has been the right fit yet.

And back at the exhibit hall, the swag continued. To their credit though, it wasn’t just a giveawaypalooza. The brands were trying to connect with women, often trying to do impromptu focus group type research on the floor. The folks at the PBS Sprout booth asked me lots about my kids’ viewing habits when I told them my boys were fans, while Jimmy Dean’s sat down willing attendees for cooking demos and survey about their food shopping patterns. And Pepsico and Yahoo were filming interviews on-site for use in future promotions.

And there was stuff that was just kind of fun. Nick Jr. celebrated Dora the Explorer’s 10th anniversary with personalized t-shirts printed on site, and Pillsbury let folks decorate cookies to try out their new frosting. Fisher Price had moms spin a prize wheel, and McDonald’s asked people to pair together three food items to create a 600 calorie meal.

Video game companies were also on hand, getting women to try out their wares. Ubisoft had women play the upcoming Just Dance 2. (Yes, there may be a picture of me somewhere doing this to score an “I Love Just Dance” t-shirt for my 7-year-old son who loves the first version. No, I did not bother to pick up the photo and bring it home.)

Photo ops were definitely all over the place. Attendees could get their pic snapped with Elmo, Mrs. Potato Head, the Pillsbury Doughboy, a few celebrity chefs and “Real Housewives,” the sun from the Jimmy Dean commercials and “Top Chef” host Padma Lakshmi (right), who also judged a sandwich making contest for Hillshire Farms to plug their new low sodium luncheon meat. (I really just wanted to ask her about the pea puree incident.)

All in all, it was kind of fun to be at a show where everyone had such a positive attitude and was so happy to be there. It was kind of like Comic Con for women.

Well, for most women. I’m a nerd, so for me, Comic Con is still Comic Con.

BlogHer ‘11 is slated for Aug 5-6 in San Diego.