Somewhat off-topic: This reminds me of a bit that Super Dave Osborn did involving stunt driving. As an announcer breathlessly describes the action, we see this '70s sedan with tinted windows maneuver through an empty parking lot doing all sorts of stunt work. At the end, the car comes down off of two wheels and does a spin, and we see Super Dave come flying out of the passenger-side window. The announcer helps him up, dusts him off, and compliments him on the amazing stunt work.
Super Dave says something to the effect of, “you idiot,” and opens the driver’s door…
…and out steps Ray Charles, who says, “Sorry 'bout that…I’m not used to driving stick.”
Back on topic: I just remembered my second-favorite SNL commercial: Jackie Chan advertising Calgon.
Customer:“Ancient Chinese Secret, huh?”
[Mr. Ling jumps over the counter and pummels the customer against the wall, then raises him in the air by his shirt collar ]
Mr. Ling: If you tell anybody about this… you’re dead man!
Yeah, it’s great when they get blind black singers on that show.
Remember the Evelyn Woodski Slow Reading Course? All of the regular cast members gave testimonials saying that when they read fast, they’d miss all the good parts. Larraine Newman was reading a book, then laughed. “When I read fast, a joke like that would go right by me!” Cut to Ray Charles reading braille. “I used to get blisters.”
The public service announcment where all you see is a pair of hands rolling a joint, then trying to inject it into a vein was a favorite from the first season.
Hey hey
It’s Adobe
The little car that’s
Made out of clay!
Also excellent and I don’t think yet mentioned is Queen Latifah’s ad for Excedrin for Racial Tension headaches – “Then, about 12:15, someone makes a joke about R. Kelly and everyone looks at me to make sure it’s all right.”
I’m sure it just cost too much to license the song for repeat.
Re: The Love Toilet. I was in college at the time, living in the international dorm, and one of the guys next watching with us was straight from Thailand and didn’t have a strong grasp of either English or American culture. So we all start laughing, and then Mudi pipes up with “What is love toilet?” And of course, we were all too busy laughing even harder to answer. Plus, how to explain that joke to someone who doesn’t share your cultural assumptions?
And I can’t believe I forgot about the series of “What happens in Thailand stays in Thailand” commercials, guest starring Ben Affleck and Kelly Ripa. Sometimes we still say, “Hey, do you know anybody who wants to buy a suitcase full of panda meat?” And it’s actually “The Wallet is in the dude.”
One of my favorite election ads was one they did of a local election, I think from the 90s. It was some mountain town I think. The commercials ran throughout the show, and it started with typical small town problems, and one of the problems was referred to as “the bat problem” in the town, and how one of the candidates tried to stop the problem but made it worse. The commercials kept building on the previous ones. I only saw it once, and I was really young.
Any help much appreciated!
Not exactly a fake ad, but I’m still reminded of the “Mr Invisible” halloween costume bit with Acroyd and Jane Curtin. .
Triopenin, the pain reliever that would work really well, if you could only get the lid off.