Decades ago, there was a VW commercial that featured Dustin Hoffman as the pitchman, who opened up the hood to show there was a trunk, and then opened up the rear to show there was “a trunk…large trunk.” That was in the 1970s, and since then there has been hordes of actors peddling the latest car or truck on television.
If you’re old enough to remember, Lincoln/Mercury was so proud of their Grand Marquis back in the 1960s that they hired a famous diamond cutter to cut diamonds in the back of the car while being driven around town. It may not have sold many cars or made many believers, but Saturday Night Live liked it enough to do a parody of that commercial a couple years later. Except they replaced the diamond cutter with a Rabbi, and he was cutting something… but it wasn’t diamonds. You do the math on this one.
The whole association of megastar and automobile is said to help promote sales, and it must be working because here we are, decades later, still seeing automotive ads using some of our favorite stars from television and movies.
One of the recent ads features Craig Robinson, a stand up comic known for roles in The Office, Pineapple Express, and Hot Tub Time Machine. He adamantly protects his new Dodge Dart from his pesky and envious neighbor and fellow actor Jake Johnson, whose only goal is putting that first scratch on Robinson’s prize possession.
Another, less comical automotive ads features a surreal Matthew McConaughey driving the new Lincoln MKC, spouting that “sometimes you gotta go back to actually move forward.” It’s a far cry from Melba Toast, his steed from Dazed and Confused days, and as we watch and listen, he tries to get deep and thought provoking. It may or may not sell cars, but that didn’t stop Saturday Night Live, back again with another parody of a Lincoln commercial.
This time, Jim Carrey does a great impersonation of McConaughey and answers the questions we’ve been asking – namely, “what is Matthew rolling between his fingers?”. The result is nothing short of hilarious. If you haven’t seen it, you’ll likely share it… it’s that funny. What car ad would you like to see SNL parody?
McConaughey getting surreal, Carrey getting comical.