Four Times Legendary Sitcom Casts Reunited for Terrible Commercials
Because time is a flat circle, and residual checks only go so far, several cast members of Modern Family recently got back together for a commercial hawking WhatsApp, seemingly set in an alternate universe in which Ed O’Neill and Sofia Vergara don’t exist.
While this commercial may be bad (and it definitely is) it’s far from the first time that sitcom stars have regrouped for painfully awkward ads, such as how…
The Stars of ‘Full House’ Appeared in a Nightmarish Yogurt Ad
The idea of Full House’s Bob Saget, Dave Coulier and John Stamos re-teaming for a Greek yogurt commercial sounds cute on paper, but in execution it got weird as hell. I mean, the punchline of this spot finds Stamos being nonconsensually humped by a grocery store clerk. And before that, Stamos rips his face off. Sure, it’s because he’s really Saget in a Mission: Impossible-esque mask, but the sight of Uncle Jesse tearing his own flesh asunder has been permanently seared into our brains.
Norm and Cliff Returned to Cheers to Promote Jenny Craig
Jenny Craig spokeswoman Kirstie Alley reprised the role of Cheers’ Rebecca Howe to hype Jenny Craig’s diet program to Norm and Cliff (George Wendt and John Ratzenberger). After all, who better to put in your weight-loss commercial than two characters who famously spent 12 hours a day guzzling beer.
Weirdly, Jenny Craig painstakingly recreated the Cheers bar for this 30-second commercial because Alley “didn’t want to walk onto some set that looks artificial.” The set was so convincing, one YouTuber even re-edited the commercial, turning it into the briefest, cringiest episode of Cheers.
Jerry Seinfeld Brought Back The Soup Nazi and ‘Schmoopie’ for a Pop-Tarts Promo
While promoting his Pop-Tart themed monstrosity Unfrosted, Jerry Seinfeld repeatedly bragged that he made the movie without first consulting with Kellogg’s. Undercutting that bad boy posturing slightly, he still happily partnered with the company for a synergistic commercial in which the Pop-Tarts company decided to steal his intellectual property without permission.
The “President of Pop-Tarts” then unveils a glass box holding the Soup Nazi, Jackie Chiles and “Schmoopie” — presumably because George, Kramer, Elaine, Newman, Puddy, Kenny Bania and even that guy who played the back of George Steinbrenner’s head all turned it down.
McDonald’s Hired Several Aging TV Stars for One Sad Commercial
To promote their “Double Cheeseburger Reunion” deal in the 1980s, McDonald’s brought back a slew of aging classic TV stars to reprise their roles — Bob Denver once again donned his Gilligan costume, Don Adams returned as Maxwell Smart and Al Lewis threw on the old Grandpa Munster cape.
In the ad, Leave to Beaver’s Mrs. Cleaver and Eddie Haskell share a meal together, which is weird because he was just her son’s friend. Are they supposed to be dating or something? Oh, and everybody shows up in the Beverly Hillbillies car.
The whole thing felt pretty sad, like most of them didn’t want to be there, but couldn’t refuse the opportunity to appear on television and take a paycheck from the clown king of garbage food.
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