Parody Commercial: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"Any outdoorsman will tell you the most frustrating part of hunting is when a deer simply FALLS DOWN when shot, and doesn't [[Blown Across the Room|FLY BACKWARD]] into the forest. Those days are over. Anything hit by this baby better PACK A LUNCH, 'cause it is going for a ride!"''|''[[Team Fortress 2]]'', advertising the Scout's new weapon.}}
 
This [[Comedy TropesTrope]] is a kissing cousin of both the [[Show Within a Show]] and the [[Commercial Switcheroo]]. Typically placed immediately at the end of a segment, it seems like the show you're watching has just cut to the mid-show commercial break. However, it quickly becomes evident (ideally in about the time it takes most folks to start getting out of their La-Z-Boy) that the commercial is actually a fake-out, for an absurd or grotesque product.
 
When done as part of a [[Sketch Comedy]] show, the product can be pretty much anything. When done as part of a more typical comedy, the mock product usually ties into the plot of the show in some fashion. In both cases, the commercial itself is a practical field guide to various [[Advertising Tropes]], although this tends to be more pronounced in the case of a [[Sketch Comedy]].
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For more parodic content, see what [[The Other Wiki]] has to say about [[wikipedia:Parody commercial|parody commercials]].
{{examples}}
 
{{examples}}
== [[Advertising]] ==
* [[Orangina]] has recently made [http://www.orangina.fr/category/publicites/ a series of commercials] that parody various commercial types - for instance, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVYAN5OlhBc Orangina body deodorant].
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== [[Comedy]] ==
* Brazilian comedy group Casseta & Planeta are famous for this. First, they were parody ofparodying real commercials. When they started their TV show, they instead created fictional products sold by the "monopolist megaconglomerate" [[Acme Products|Organizações Tabajara]]. At a certain point, a rival company, Grupo Capivara, appeared. Since it was the same thing as the original, they were sold to a working-class man, "Seu Creysson" (parodying the fact that a Brazilian airline was sold by $1) and started selling products focused on poor people, such as a "palmtop" which consisted of writing on the person's hand.
* [[Tim Wilson]]'s ''Hillbilly Homeboy'' album ends with a fake commercial advertising an album called "Love Songs for Losers".
 
== [[Film]] ==
* In theThe [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] movie ''[[UHF]]'' contains a number of these, including commercials for TV shows such as "Conan the Librarian" and movies such as "Gandhi II".
* ''[[CSA: Confederate States of America]]'', a parody film depicting what it would be like if the South had won [[American Civil War|the war]], had commercial breaks throughout the mock documentary that showed commercials that would have appealed to that country at the time, involving slavery more often than not. About half of them feature products with racist names and/or mascots that [[Aluminum Christmas Trees|really existed]]... in the North... ''after'' the Civil War.
* The three films of the ''[[RoboCop]]'' series featured fake commercials breaking up the storyline, including one for an ultra powerful sunblock to exposit that the ozone layer had been destroyed in the film's reality, although the sunblock itself could be harmful to the health if overused.
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* ''[[Stay Tuned]]'', about a couple [[Trapped in TV Land]], naturally features several of these, such as one for the non-alcoholic children's drink "Yogi Beer" and "MaxHell" cassette tapes in a direct parody of Maxell's "Blown Away Guy" campaign.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysYsFqwSJ7k&feature=related This infomercial] for [[Steampunk]] rayguns from Weta Workshops.
* At one point in ''[[Freaked]]'', a [[Show Within a Show]] breaks for an ad for Macheesmo, a canned cheese product that's marketed in [[Testosterone Poisoning|an aggressively macho]] manner.
 
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* Both ''[[Mad TV]]'' and ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' have employed this concept for years, advertising bogus products in order to make fun of various [[Advertising Tropes]] or make fun of a current event (such as the cold opening on the Jonah Hill episode from season 33 where disgraced governor Eliot Spitzer [Bill Hader] advertises a new law firm that deals with sexual court cases, such as injuries from faulty vibrators, U.S. customs seizing German porn, and slip and falls in gay bath houses). For SNL, "[[Happy Fun Ball]]" is probably the best-known; ''[[Mad TV]]'', meanwhile, featured a plush toy called "Tickle Me Emo", an angsty, stereotypically emo version of Elmo from Sesame Street ("You don't understand what I'm going through!"). Other sketch shows, like ''Fridays'', ''[[In Living Color]]'', ''WB's Hype'', and ''[[SCTV]]'' have done fake commercials, though it can be safe to say ''SNL'' and ''[[Mad TV]]'' have the most memorable parodies.
** "Hi, I'm Sam Waterson... [http://www.hulu.com/watch/2340/saturday-night-live-old-glory Robots are everywhere...]"
** Somethin's always cookin at the [http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/clips/cluckin-chicken/229063/ Cluckin' Chicken]!
** [[The Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer]] sketches were presented with a listing of fictional sponsors ("Brought to you by Dog Assassin. When you can't bear to put him to sleep, maybe it's time to call Dog Assassin!")
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*** When Gillette razors invented the dual blade razors, SNL spoofed them with their ad for triple bladed razors, ''because you'll buy anything!'' Twenty years later, real razors now offer ''[[Up to Eleven|five bladed models]].''
** "Get a Nike(y) Turkey, and PUMP IT!"
** The TBS show ''Tush'', which was modeled loosely on ''SNL'', routinely did a parody commercial or three per show.
* The episode of ''[[Roseanne]]'' that parodies [[The Fifties|fifties]] sitcoms also features parodies of fifties ''commercials''.
* ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' had memorable parody commercials for such products as Whizzo Butter (now with 10% more less, and completely indistinguishable from a dead crab) and American Defense [[Commercial Switcheroo|or]] Crelm Toothpaste (with the miracle ingredient Fraudulin!).
* Jasper Carrott's BBC show ''Canned Carrott'' had a fake '"End of Part One/Two'" section and spoof ads. Being a BBC show, with no '"real'" paid advertisements, the director had free rein to cut up real commercials and splice spoof sections in (like Jasper borrowing a friend's new Renault and taking it rallying, with predicable consequences), without any conflict of interest.
* ''[[The Goodies]]'' would always have a couple of fake ads halfway through each episode, such as the ill-fated Heinz Meinz Beans boy.
** Buy new low suds Mold...or we send the boys 'round.
** Harvest Moon, the scent that lingers. Buy some, or we'll break your fingers.
** A housewife is cleaning up a dirty floor, when a lady comes in with "Fairy Puff" detergent. The lady instantly starts to smear detergent all over, making a far bigger mess than there was before. Frustrated, the housewife takes out a gun from the window, and shoots her. "[[Commercial Switcheroo|If someone interrupts you when you're cleaning the house, use our guns!]]"
** A shot of a car and a voice-over saying "We put a gallon of economy petrol in this car. Let's see how far it goes." The camera followed the car driving around for a little bit, before it reached a banner saying 'TWENTY MILES'. The car was just about to drive through...and then crashed into the banner. "[[Commercial Switcheroo|For strong paper, buy from us!]]"
* That last one was a parody of an actual petrol advert from the time, which showed a car breaking through paper banners every ten miles. ''[[Morecambe and Wise]]'' also spoofed this ad: in their version the car was shown travellingtraveling some outlandish distance in the tens of thousands of miles on a single gallon. When it finally stopped, presenter Ernie waxed lyrical about it, ignoring driver Eric's complaints that the engine of his car was completely worn out.
* ''[[The Weird Al Show]]'' did this in just about every episode, with ads like "Sport Shoe - you don't deserve to wear them", "Silly Choice Dinners" that had rubber bands as a side item, and an ad for a pizza company that never puts their pizzas in a box to save time.
* [[Stan Freberg]] did both parody commercials and real ones.
* ''[[Bill Nye the Science Guy]]'' has one every now and then. Pass the plankton, please!
* Subverted in the early ads for Energizer batteries. It would start out looking like a normal commercial, until about halfway through when the absurdity got a bit too much (such as "Chateau Marmoset" wine, or the award-winning film "Dance With Your Feet") ... and then get interrupted by the Energizer bunny, pounding on his little drum, he keeps going and going and going and going and ...
* The sitcom ''[[Better Off Ted]]'': Each episode included a fake commercial for the fictitious Veridian Dynamics company, the workplace setting for the show.
* The ''30Rock[[30 Rock]]'' episode "Gavin Volure" has one. Gavin Volure (Steven Martin) tries to justify creating a fake corporation by saying that the commercial never said what the company does. Indeed it's just a random assortment of footage and words.
{{quote|'''Female narrator''': Innovation. Tomorrow. America.}}
* ''[[iCarly]]'': ''The Sack'' is a dead-on spoof on the many uses of the sleeved blanket '''Snuggies''', but sans the sleeves. [[Hilarity Ensues]].
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* The ''[[Babylon 5]]'' episode "And Now For a Word", done as a series of interviews and reports from a visiting journalist, features an ad from the Psi Corps, complete with [[Subliminal Seduction]].
* ''[[The Colbert Report]]'': [http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/224789/april-16-2009/the-colbert-coalition-s-anti-gay-marriage-ad Stephen made his own version of an anti gay marriage ad.]
* ''[[That Mitchell and Webb Look]]'', like many sketch shows, have done a couples of these. Notably cressps;
{{quote|'''Webb:''' Once you cressp, you just can't splessp!
'''Mitchell:''' That doesn't ''make any sense''! }}
* ''[[KYTV]]'', being a spoof on commercial satellite TV, featured a handful of parody commercials in every episode, as did its predecessor, ''Radio Active.''
* ''[[The Rick Mercer Report]]'' always has one or two an episode, often riffing on current political or business situations.
* The first episode of ''[[Six Feet Under]]'' included some parody adverts for mortuary products.
 
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* ''GAMES'' magazine used to run a fake ad in every issue. It was listed in the table of contents with the tagline, "Which of the pitches is full of hitches?"
* ''Computer Games Magazine'' frequently runs ads for [http://www.phobe.com/sfi/sigmain.html fictional game studio Schadenfreude Interactive]. Because, honestly, who can resist [[Survival Horror]] karaoke, [[Steel Battalion|Mecha-assisted]] fishing, and racing against elder gods?
* The pornographic magazine ''Hustler'' would carry parody ads, usually to express Larry Flynt's opinions and beliefs.
 
== [[Music]] ==
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== [[Radio]] ==
* ''[[A Prairie Home Companion]]'' does these regularly, for a range of products including Bee-Bop-A-Ree-Bop Rhubarb Pie and Powdermilk Biscuits.
** Though in this case it's Garrison Keillor's [[George Lucas Throwback]] to the old radio variety shows that had prominent sponsorships. To wit: the show's house band is even named after a ficticiousfictitious brand of shoe.
 
== [[Real Life]] ==
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* The ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series after the third game is rife with these spoof commercials. An example: an advertisement in ''[[Grand Theft Auto San Andreas]]'' from "Cluckin' Bell", a fictional Kentucky Fried Chicken look-alike, which stresses how unhygienic and gross these places are ("Cock-a-doodle-doo, this tastes like shit!"), as well as the inhumane manner in which the chickens are treated. The third game, meanwhile, features an advertisement about "Aeris Running Shoes", an obvious Nike look-alike, which stresses the alleged worker abuse in their factories in southern Asia (A young boy: "It's good! We get to play with knives! My friend sewed his hands together! Yesterday, I made a dollar!").
** ''[[GTA 2]]'' also has parody ads on the radio: "You might be surprised to learn than 93% of investments are ethical, eco-friendly, and wide open to market collapse. A crash can strike without warning, wiping clean a lifetime of work and saving to destroy your future, and the future of your family. The people at Third World Bank have different ideas, capturing the earning potential of underdeveloped countries and spreading your money across a wide range of tobacco, defense, and pharmaceutical investments. Third World, keeping your money safe no matter the cost."
** The ''[[Saints Row]]'' series [[Follow the Leader|also]] featured parody radio commercials, including those for '"Freckle Bitch's'" fast food restaurants.
* The trivia computer game ''[[You Don't Know Jack]]'' played parody commercials at the end of each game. These were so popular that one of the games in the series even included an audio CD of some of the more memorable parodies.
* ''Streets of [[Sim City]]'' and ''Sim Copter'' both featured similar radio commercials for things such as bottled water ("some waters taste, well, watery"), car-mounted weapons, and other Sim games.
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** The Strong Bad Email [http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail149.html candy product] ends with a commercial for the candy bar SBlounchked!, sending up Mentos-style [[Bottled Cool]] pitches.
* A ''real'' commercial example: PayAttention.org puts out political ads with stereotypical images of waving flags, eagles, happy families, or whatever - only to reveal that the candidate being promoted is, say, a bag of leaves.
* In the [[Whateley Universe]] story "Tales of the MCO", the characters are sitting around watching said television show and [[MS TingMSTing]] it. It has parody commercials for upcoming movies. The Ivory-Merchant production of "Hulk 1809" and the Oliver Stone-directed "Foucault's Pendulum". And fake cereal ads.
* [[Banana-nana-Ninja!]]'s Feast Master story arc has Sudoku giving an infomercial-style riff about the Omni-Functional Kitchen Gadget on a colosseum big-screen.
* Ursula Vernon got a section in her gallery for this stuff. Behold "[http://www.redwombatstudio.com/wpg2?g2_itemId=233 Red Wombat Tea Co.]".
* The '''Powerthirst''' series of commercials, now [[Defictionalized]].
* The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4EEn6KmFUc Lucky Candy commercial] [[Easter Egg]] at the end of [[Bowser's Kingdom]] episode 5.
* ''[[Tobuscus]]'' does a lot of parodies of various commercial and commercial themes, from coffee ("Eight O'Clock Coffee") to clothing ("You're Not a Bottle, Boot") to pistachios ("Trapped in a Pistachio Ad") to Axe body spray ("How To Get Women"). Many of these are [[Product Placement|sponsored by the companies themselves]].
* ''[[Frilly Shirt]]'' includes a number of parody vintage commercials, particularly for the author's own [[Snake Oil Salesman|Patented Leopard Oil]].
 
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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** The episode "Chinpokomon" featured two mock advertisements. The first was the "Wild Wacky Action Bike", a bicycle with both front and rear handlebars, advertised as "almost impossible to steer". The second product was the "Alabama Man", an action figure of a stereotypical redneck who spends his time drinking beer, bowling, chewing tobacco, and beating his wife ("When Wife asks him where he's been, just use the action button and Alabama Man busts her lip open!" 'Shut up, bitch!'"). After a focus group consisting of Cartman, Stan and Kyle dismiss both as "gay", the researcher says, "Oooh, dear. Well, let's keep trying. How about this?" Cut to real commercials.
** The episode "Free Hat", which was a [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|criticism of movie remakes]], featured an advertisement in the middle for a remake of the very first ''South Park'' episode, with "new and exciting digital effects".
* ''[[The Ren and Stimpy Show|The Ren & Stimpy Show]]'' featured several mock-adverts, amongst other between-toon-bumpers, between toons. The most famous '"product'" advertised was Log, from Blammo - a solid chunk of wood which could be endlessly accessorised ("Action Log! Space Log! Anatomically Correct Log!") and was apparently great for a snack.
** And fits on your back.
** It's Log, Log, Log!