The other day I posted the DirecTV ad featuring footage of Chris Farley and new footage of David Spade, and I opined that it was a "worst commercial of the year" nominee. I also mentioned that it might be "too soon."

To clarify, when I said "too soon" I didn't mean that it was too soon after Farley's death (he died 12 years ago). I meant that it's odd seeing a young, contemporary celebrity in an ad (which DirecTV also did with Heather O'Rourke - that was worse), especially one where he is interacting with a costar who is doing the scene in the present day. My other point was "how the hell is this going to sell DirecTV to anyone?" (and "boy is this ad unfunny").

I'm not the only one who finds the DirecTV ad odd. Now Spade and Farley's brother Kevin have responded to the criticism.

Spade explains to our friends at Asylum that "When DirecTV came to me and the Farley family with this idea about Tommy Boy, we talked and thought it would be a cool way to remind people just how funny Chris was. It is a clever homage to my friend and a movie that we loved doing."

Kevin Farley is also OK with the ad, as he said in a press release that was sent to us about an hour ago: "We has (sic) a family believe the Direct TV (sic) commercial is a celebration of Chris. It shows him doing what he loved to do most, making people laugh! He would have loved the spot. We are grateful to Direct TV (sic) and David Spade for doing it, and honoring Chris, and the classic movie Tommy Boy this way."

I don't know if I'd consider Tommy Boy a classic movie, but other than that it's good to have the two statements on record. Maybe this is one of those "if his family and friends are OK with it..." situations. I still find the ad jarring though. Why can't DirecTV use celebrities that are still alive to sell their product?