Sentence:  Although the false glamour surrounding bourbon or other whisky commercials is possibly no more fatuous than the pseudo-sophistication with which TV soft-drinks are downed or toothpaste <WSD>applied</WSD> , there is a sad difference between enticing a viewer into sipping Oopsie-Cola and gulling him into downing bourbon . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  apply to a surface