If they still have that problem (which I think they do), you're better off going with a white MacBook. But personally, if you're not going the Air route, I'd opt for a 15" MacBook Pro: it's only 0.4 lbs heavier, with more screen real estate.
In fact, the only time anyone does pay attention to them are in my flickr photos of the engraving, because I didn't bother wiping off the laptop before taking pics. Oh well.
It ended up being cheaper than a "professional" paint job (which usually doesn't include the keys) and cleaner than a paint job done by yours truly. The whole laptop is black, including the colored parts of the ports that you can see and the keyboard. I know it doesn't cost them that much to manufacture a black version, but I thought it was well worth it.
I don't think many others have been able to pull off charging for a color option, but it's not exactly unheard of (think cars and metallic paint).