Kevin Bacon Plays Kevin Bacon's Biggest Fan in New Ad

Kevin Bacon is not one of those movie stars that's above doing TV ads for American audiences; he did a really funny "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon"-themed ad for Visa in the early '00s and he got repeatedly rejected by Michael Jordan in a Hanes ad.

But there, Kevin was playing "famous actor Kevin Bacon." In this new ad for the new Google TV device from Logitech, Bacon takes it one step further, playing Kevin Bacon's biggest fan.

If this were just a random actor playing the 'Footloose' star's biggest fan, proudly displaying his needlepoint portraits of Bacon while surrounded by posters of his movies, the ad would be creepy. But because Bacon plays the guy, it feels even more creepy.

But, you know what? It's so creepy that it's circled back to being funny again. The ad and more after the jump.



I give Bacon, Logitech and their ad agency credit for presenting the ad this way. It could have really backfired on them, even if people were able to easily identify the obsessed Bacon fan as Bacon himself. Meta ads like this are always a crapshoot; either people get the joke right away or they completely scratch their heads, trying to figure out what the ad is talking about and exactly what it's selling.

It's pretty clear what's being sold here, though. Even if you're not up on the latest news about Google TV, the ad gives you a good idea of what the product is about. The Bacon fan wants to know where he can find anything he wants about his favorite actor, whether it's on the web or on his cable. In the span of a few seconds, the product's reason for being is communicated. Now, you may not know how the product gets on the web or is hooked up to your cable or satellite box, but that technical stuff isn't what this ad is for.

My favorite moment in the ad is when the unnamed fan says "My wife says if I watch any more Kevin Bacon, I might actually turn into Kevin Bacon," then he crosses his fingers, hoping that it comes true. He looks like he's already on his way.

You've got to like an actor who isn't afraid to skewer his movie star image, and Bacon's done that a number of times. And in my limited interactions with him -- I interviewed him last year about his Emmy-nominated role in the HBO movie 'Taking Chance' -- he seemed like a down-to-earth, self-effacing guy. This ad shows that what I heard during that interview might not be an act.

Tell us what you think: Is this ad funny, creepy, or both?

(Follow @joelkeller on Twitter.)