Comic Duo Offers To Make Free Commercials For Local Businesses
Love local commercials? So do Rhett & Link, a couple of comics who film ads for local businesses everywhere. The spot below, for example, makes a delightfully inappropriate plea for racial unity while plugging North Carolina-based Red House Furniture ("We make furniture for black people and white people!").
In their ever-expanding quest for new subject matter, Rhett and Link are asking people to nominate their favorite local business to win a free, customized commercial. To make a nomination, you can visit the website, where you can also view the businesses that have been nominated so far.
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Comments:
I'd much rather have the "it's just like a mini mall!" guy...
This is amazing.
I remember seeing this a while back on other blogs - but I'm loving that they are offering to do it for free for others!
My guess is they'll leave it up to the business to buy the airtime, but something tells me it will probably just stay on the web since that's free.
So, what's their game? Is this self promotion for an act they do, or do they hope to some day get hired to do this for real?
Or do they just really want to be on the Tim and Eric show?
wow this is amazing. I can't believe they are giving it away for free.
Lol, that's pretty funny :)
@brodie7838: What? Why? It's hilarious! Sure, the picture and sound quality are not fantastic, but it's wonderfully irreverent.
@brodie7838: I could definitely see using their bizarre (but chiefly free) talent to promote my websites/affiliate sites. Considering that business is very slightly higher than nil, the maxim of no such thing as bad publicity would probably hold true.
Otherwise, if I had a few grand poured into running a brick and mortar storefront, I'd be rather wary of alienating more people than I attracted with something like that.
Perhaps they are hoping to be the next Vince Shlomi/Billy Mays ubiquitous faces on infomercials?
As for the Brad Benson commercial....he's wearing a terrible rug. He had a few other dealerships as well but he sold them off so either they weren't doing well or someone made him an offer he couldn't refuse. The furniture commercial was just ridiculous.
Brad Benson does the best radio spots. He needs to drop the 'celibacy' bit, though, it's getting old.
However, "We make furniture for black people and white people" could be interpreted as there are two types of furniture they sell - furniture for black people and furniture for white people.
Can't we all just get a loan?
click-thru to the site & watch the "tdm auto sales" commercial. that one is funny as hell!
That black guy when he's shaking the womans hand, looks like they hooked up the wooden hand from happy gilmore, what kind of a sissy grip does he have?
@brodie7838: What? You don't think white people and black people should shop at the same furniture store? for SHAME!
@Vandelay Import Export: White folks sit on the couch like this; black folks sit on the couch like this...
Rhett & Link are actually pretty popular. I love the Red House video, but there's also kind of a behind-the-scenes that's pretty fun to watch too. And btw, it's 'The Red House: Where Black People and White People Buy Furniture' :)
The best thing I've seen yet, though, a commercial for the Sham Wow came on, but then R&L appeared and sang the thing in its' entirety. Word for word. Find it on youtube, it's entertaining :)
@Vandelay Import Export: Except they explain that this couch is perfect for a black person or a white person!
Should have been half that long, much faster paced -- but I love it! It manages to spoof a lot of things at once: race relations, the dorky furniture-store and auto dealership commercials where the owner does the talking in some awful voice and terrible clothing, the whole concept of a slick television commercial.
Meh, the "employees" were kind of funny, the two guys singing kind of made it lame though.
I adore Rhett and Link. I can't lie. My roomate and I wasted many a night in our master's program watching their zany antics. I still sometimes sing the sudoku song at random times.
yes, I'm a horrible nerd.
yeah i emailed this to tips@consumerist.com back on 5/19/2009.
@brodie7838: This is what you call trying too hard to be funny. It doesn't make a good commercial and it doesn't make for good comedy. In advertising, being obscure and strange is the last thing you want to do. If you're not a recognized brand you just become that weird local commercial on tv. Those are quickly forgotten and no one remembers what the commercial was for but only what bothered them about it. If anything this could steer people away from your business. If you're going to do comedy in a local ad, you certainly don't want drab college humor.
@narq: Where exactly did you get your communications degree, and in what decade?
I respect your opinion of what you think is good versus bad advertising, but it is just that: an OPINION.
Couldn't pay me to use a commercial like that for my business.