Powered by i.TV
May 18, 2013

Worst commercial of the year nominee: Chris Farley and DirecTV

by Bob Sassone, posted Oct 25th 2009 4:05PM
They use dead celebs in ads all the time and it doesn't bother me, so why does the new DirecTV commercial with David Spade and Chris Farley irritate and disgust me so much?

For one, it's badly made. Unfunny and not very clever. Plus, it might be too soon, and the way that Farley died... it's just a very strange ad. I wonder why Spade even agreed to do it. (DirecTV has done this before.)

Add a Comment

*0 / 3000 Character Maximum

21 Comments

Filter by:
K Smith

DirecTV = classy. Hey Dish, jealous? Sure there are plenty of dead celebs and people willing to sell them out for you too. Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEMg90MgNbg Also a cool parody: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YiyFk2GuPM

November 04 2009 at 12:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Debbie Zarzecki

I think the ad is cute. Chris Farley was a very talented and funny young man who loved to make people laugh. That is the legacy he left behind and I think it would please him to know that though he's been gone 12 years he can still bring a smile to people's faces.
It's also my understanding that his family worked with Direct Tv on the ad and were happy with it. So I don't know why some people are getting so worked up over it.

October 27 2009 at 3:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
litehousebeacon

The only thing I care about is the technology they use in these commercials to keep the actors looking like they did when the movies came out. I think Wolverine could have used some of that technology.

October 26 2009 at 2:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mike

Well, first off, it's David Spade making money off a dead friend. It's David Spade. SNL has no problem making money off Farley in its multiple retrospectives (which only show they have no new stuff worth seeing). And did I mention it's David Spade making money off a dead friend? As the kids say, OMG, I felt the exact same reaction as far as the ad content as you did when I first saw it and had to explain to my 10-year-old daughter that yes, she is right -- It is not funny -- but also the fat guy has been dead awhile so that just made it creepy. It sure didn't make me want to buy whatever they were selling. The fact that it's David Spade making money off a dead friend is no surprise and probably was Spade's idea. Once your Joe Dirt biopic is in the $1 sale bin at Wal-Mart, about all you can do is make money off your dead pals.

October 26 2009 at 4:52 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
MosquitoControl

I agree with the above guy. Somehow Spade doing the commercial is the creepy part. I think what makes it is that the movie wasn't a Spade vehicle, it was a Farley vehicle. They're taking the star and capitalizing on it. I think had Farley survived and done a commercial with a dead Spade it would rankle people less.

There's definitely something off-putting about it that makes the commercial a very bad idea. Everyone I've been around when it comes on gets slightly offended. Honestly, we're a group that's very difficult to offend. We're the kind of people that made Crocodile Hunter jokes immediately upon hearing the news. We pretty much joke about anything so long as we can find humorous absurdity in it.
Yet, somehow this sort of offends us.

October 26 2009 at 1:46 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jim

I'm glad you said something.

What's disturbing about this ad isn't the use of Chris' image (it's not too soon); it's the fact that Spade is STILL riding Chris' coattails for fame. He could -- and should -- have said no.

October 26 2009 at 12:05 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Cliff

The post above says that Direct TV has made fun of other deceased celebs, sorry, is Chevy Chase dead? How many other dead celebs has Direct TV made fun of? I probably should do my research, but the commercial just didn't sit right. Is Christie Brinkley dead? Are they paying a licensing fee to somebody? SNL? Where did they get the 'likeness use'?

October 25 2009 at 10:55 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Cliff's comment
010111

the girl in Poltergeist is dead. and she was in a DirecTV spot. though not 'made fun of' ... dead nonetheless though.

October 26 2009 at 4:29 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
robert

1) The ad creeped me out. Maybe It's that it's Spade making money off of the image of his best friend. It's not necessarily wrong, just creepy.

2) what's more annoying than posts about commercials(which are a part of TV)? People taking the time to post whiny complaints about said posts. If you don't like it, don't read it.

October 25 2009 at 10:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to robert's comment
Cliff

Do your legal work, that's more than an image use, maybe Farley's family was compensated?

October 25 2009 at 10:59 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
mknoebel

I do everything I can to avoid commercials. Lately I've noticed tvsquad reviewing more and more commercials. If this continues I'm done with tvsquad. Stick to the actual shows please!

October 25 2009 at 9:21 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bob Sassone

I didn't say "too soon" as in "he just died." I meant that it's odd to have a contemporary deceased actor in an ad like this, especially when he's talking to another actor in the ad who is talking to us currently.

Beyond all that, I don't see how it will entice people to give up cable and go with DirecTV.

October 25 2009 at 7:54 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

Follow Us

From Our Partners