Controversy raged last weekend as fans and media types reacted to a new DirecTV ad using the late Chris Farley in scenes from Tommy Boy. Now, some aggressive YouTubers are taking their shot at offending some people (with DirecTV execs at the top of the list).
The original ad featured a live action David Spade discussing DirecTV against Farley's antics from Tommy Boy. While Spade insisted Farley wouldn't mind, a lot of his fans took offense to using a dead man to hawk a product.
But the video below, from a YouTube page, The Landline, lights up the satellite TV provider with an edgy send-up of the "dead talk cash" stunt with faked DirecTV ads featuring a pseudo Heath Ledger, John F. Kennedy, and someone else you'll recognize.
There's a conspiracy theory floating around that this is actually clever viral marketing from DirecTV itself -- since no publicity is bad publicity. But, if that were true, and word really got out, it'd be "deadly" to the company's business.
ads-related stories
Commercial spoofs take shots at DirecTV's Chris Farley spot
Things I Hate About TV: "online web sites"
There are many phrases I hear on the news and in commercials that I find annoying, painful, and simply illogical. This is one of the worst offenders.I was watching a commercial today for a bank and the woman in the commercial said that the bank was "the number one online banking web site." Which got me wondering: what's the number one banking web site that's not online?
Continue reading Things I Hate About TV: "online web sites"
Patrick Warburton is a 'top of the line' PC in the latest Mac ad
Patrick Warburton has made a career out of playing the smug and clueless jerk everyone loves to laugh at on shows like Seinfeld, Less than Perfect and Rules of Engagement. I guess that's why Apple thought he'd be the perfect guy to play a "top of the line" PC in the latest Mac ad:
I love these simple and amusing Get a Mac ads, but this is probably one of my favorites of the bunch. I never imagined this before, but now I can see the hammy Warburton maybe playing a self-important '60s commercial actor on Mad Men, or at least starring in an SNL-style Mad Men parody.
I love these simple and amusing Get a Mac ads, but this is probably one of my favorites of the bunch. I never imagined this before, but now I can see the hammy Warburton maybe playing a self-important '60s commercial actor on Mad Men, or at least starring in an SNL-style Mad Men parody.
Continue reading Patrick Warburton is a 'top of the line' PC in the latest Mac ad
What's the best advertising slogan and who's the best advertising icon?
As I've mentioned here several times before, I'm a huge fan of TV commercials, especially the history and what goes on behind the scenes of campaigns and slogans (I think it's 60% why Mad Men is one of my favorite shows). Advertising Week wants you to vote in their poll to name the best advertising icons of all-time and the best slogans of all-time. This poll happens every year, and you can see past winners who are now in the Walk of Fame at the link above. This year the choices include Ronald McDonald (as well as the slogan "I'm Lovin' It"), that creepy Burger King guy, the Maytag repairman, Snap, Crackle, and Pop, "Got Milk" and more.
The most annoying commercial ever this week: FreeCreditReport.com
Those FreeCreditReport.com guys have been on my snark radar for a long time. But I deactivated my head-mounted quip laser and turned the sarcasm cannon over to "stealth mode" when the ads came up because it seemed like a little, heh, overkill.
Sure, the ads are designed to be hokey and cheesy so they'll get your attention and get guys like me writing about them, scoring tons of free publicity that only a corporate-sponsored puppy flood could replicate. If anything, they should be applauded for being ridiculously short.
But the latest song from the FreeCreditReport.com "band" has been playing more frequently than the others and its incessant tune feels like a cheese grater being rubbed against my ear drum. So I turned on the sniper scope and aimed directly for the spot between each of their glazed-over eyes.
Continue reading The most annoying commercial ever this week: FreeCreditReport.com
The new Microsoft ad might make you want to vomit
Actually, the entire series of ads might make you want to lose your lunch. Sure, watching '90s Superman Dean Cain randomly pop up in people's homes dressed like Bentley from The Jeffersons is a little funny. But it's all over once the "jokes" and the puke start to fly. I'm not sure why Microsoft thought the image of a woman violently vomiting after stumbling upon her man friend's favorite porn site would sell more copies of Explorer 8. View the ad after the jump
Continue reading The new Microsoft ad might make you want to vomit
Today is "Wear Blue for Billy" day
News of someone's death always implants a little sadness in my brain, whether its the passing of a major celebrity or some innocent bystander who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Part of it is completely selfish. Someone's passing always reminds me of the frailty of human life and lets me know I'm always one less beer away from reaching the end of my time.
The other part is the projection of my own pain. We've all lost someone close to us and know what that pain feels like when our brain is scrambling to catch up with the reality of that loss. There is someone out there who has to deal with that same pain, whether the person who died was worthy of Catholic sainthood or the Bastard of the Year Award.
Continue reading Today is "Wear Blue for Billy" day
Farrah slathers Joe Namath (and other early ads)
With all the Michael Jackson news, let's not forget that another huge star, Farrah Fawcett, also passed away yesterday. All of the obits I've seen of Farrah pretty much start her professional biography with her breakout role in Charlie's Angels. But Farrah was almost 30 when she landed the role as Jill Munroe. A quick look at her IMDb profile shows that Farrah had a number of guest-starring roles well before Aaron Spelling made her a megastar.
Farrah also starred in a ton of commercials in the early '70s, including this famous spot with Joe Namath. Here, the Jets QB is advertising Noxema shaving cream, and Farrah lustily covers his face in the stuff.
More ads after the jump.
Farrah also starred in a ton of commercials in the early '70s, including this famous spot with Joe Namath. Here, the Jets QB is advertising Noxema shaving cream, and Farrah lustily covers his face in the stuff.
More ads after the jump.
Continue reading Farrah slathers Joe Namath (and other early ads)
Spike TV + Dunkin Donuts = a really weird commercial
This is how effective this commercial is: I have no idea who Barry Switzer is (Joel tells me he's a coach that won several big games) but I still laugh every time I see it. It's a joint ad from Spike TV and Dunkin Donuts. Switzer is a crazy old man who jumps out from behind a tree and talks to two guys about taking care of footballs like a baby. Not sure if it sells Dunkin Donuts at all but it makes me remember Spike TV.
[via Adfreak]
D'Angelo takes on Subway
The only part of the "Save Chuck" thing that I haven't been on board with is the fact that Subway is a part of it. Don't like Subway, with their microwaved meat and paltry toppings and lame service. I've always liked D'Angelo though, and in these ads they say why they're better (though they never utter Subway's name - trust me, they're talking about Subway).
[via AdFreak]
Brought To You By ... Steve Carell, Jason Alexander, and a hobbit who loves cheese - VIDEOS
This month we're taking a look at celebrities who did TV commercials.Whenever you get into any profession, you have to start at the bottom. The TV business is no exception. The stars you see in prime time today probably cut their teeth working in TV commercials. Heck, some of them still do TV commercials even after they become big stars (but it's often overseas...shhhhhhhh).
After the jump, a sampling of TV commercials from years ago that star celebrities who are now household names. If you're old enough to remember these commercials, you'll probably say to yourself, "Oh yeah, I remember this ad, but I didn't realize that he was in it!"
Someone fetch me my cane: Apple's "1984" ad is 25 years old today - VIDEO
Two things about Darren Rovell's CNBC.com story about the famous Apple Macintosh Super Bowl ad shocked me:- That it aired for the first and only time (at least as an ad, not a cultural icon) 25 years ago today, during the broadcast of Super Bowl XVIII (when the Los Angeles Raiders crushed the Washington Redskins, for you sports fans); and
- That the Super Bowl was once played as early as January 22.
The NFL season has slowly gotten longer and longer, hasn't it? Anyway, Rovell has an interesting interview with Mike Murray, Apple's marketing manager for the then-brand-new Mac. The best thing to come out of the interview was the fact that Apple's board of directors hated the completed ad, which was inspired by George Orwell's novel 1984, and never wanted it to air. But they couldn't sell back their 60-second spot and had nothing else to put there.
So, basically, a lack of productivity on the part of Apple's marketing department allowed us to see what became the most famous Super Bowl ad ever. You can see the ad after the jump.
Continue reading Someone fetch me my cane: Apple's "1984" ad is 25 years old today - VIDEO
CBS wants you to have yourself a merry little prostate exam
What do you get the man who has everything?CBS is running their "CBS Cares" PSAs, and the new ones are quite...something. You've probably seen them. One of them features a bunch of women talking about what to get their husbands for Hanukkah. I think a lot of guys would like a Nintendo WII, but a woman suggests a prostate exam! And no, it's not some sort of sexual foreplay, they're actually talking about making an appointment with the doctor for the guys to have a prostate exam ("honey, wait, you're not talking about role-playing?"). There's a PSA for prostate-exams-as-Christmas-gifts too, because even people who aren't Jewish need them.
Continue reading CBS wants you to have yourself a merry little prostate exam
Brought To You By ... - VIDEOS
Let's talk (again) about commercials we hate.Or maybe I should say commercials I hate, though I think you'll agree with me on some of these. They run the gamut from silly to ineffective, from dumb to just plain jaw-dropping. Let's start with jaw-dropping.
1. DirecTV's Poltergeist ad. This is...creepy and tasteless. Do the makers of this ad really not know that young Poltergeist star Heather O'Rourke died at a really young age? Even if they didn't (I'm kidding, of course they did), the star of the ad, Craig T. Nelson, is aware of it. So why use footage of her in the ad? It's just bizarre to me. Then again I'm not a DirecTV exec. They must know that what they're doing by using footage of a deceased child star (and a stand-in) to sell satellite TV service.
Continue reading Brought To You By ... - VIDEOS
Google helps NBC sell ads
It looks like Google is taking a step towards having a television station all its own. The Internet search company will be helping NBC Universal sell advertisements for some of NBC's cable stations (including Sci Fi, Oxygen, MSNBC, CNBC, Sleuth and Chiller).This is yet another step in the inevitable merger of television and the Internet. It wouldn't surprise me if in the future, Google either acquires a television network (it could be NBC or some other one) or starts one all its own. It's certainly ubiquitous enough in Internet advertising to break into another medium (sort of like Microsoft's strategy).
It does say something that NBC is turning over some of its ad sales to a third party. As the article states, it could be a way of attracting businesses who only advertise on the Internet. It could also be a way of streamlining their business model so they can concentrate on producing shows in a more cost-effective manner (I knew that MBA would come in handy some day).
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
