Parody advertisement

A parody advertisement is a fictional advertisement for a non-existent product, either done within another advertisement for an actual product, or done simply as parody of advertisements -- used either as a way of ridiculing or drawing negative attention towards a real advertisement or such an advertisement's subject, or as a comedic device, such as in a comedy skit or sketch.

Example

A parody advertisement should not be confused with a fictional brand name used in a program to avoid giving free advertising to an actual product, or to the use of a fictional brand name in an actual advertisement used for comparison, which is sometimes done as opposed to comparing the product to an actual competitor (in some countries, (Germany or Norway for example) it is illegal to make disparaging comments about a competitor's product in an advertisement, even if the statements are proven to be true. [Germany's "Act against Unfair Competition" or "Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb" (UWG) of 3 July 2004, § 6 generally forbids the use of comparative advertising. Technically it is not "illegal" in that almost all actions under the law are based on private lawsuits, e.g. typically the company whose product is being mentioned sues, rather than the government prosecuting.] )

A parody advertisement can be one in which the advertisement appears to "actually be a real ad for" the false product, but then the advertisement is somehow exposed to be a parody and if it is an actual advertisement the actual brand becomes clear. If it is simply a parody it may or may not indicate that it is one.

Television

Here are some examples of well known parody advertisements:

Energizer Bunny

In the 1990s, the most famous series of parody advertisements were those for the Energizer battery. A parody itself of a Duracell battery commercial, in its initial commercial episode first shown in October 1989, a toy pink rabbit, is being filmed in a commercial. The toy, powered by the battery, escapes the studio and begins a rampage, pounding a drum and rolling through other commercials being made, including those for coffee, wine, a fictional upcoming TV series, long distance service, breakfast cereal, and sinus medication. A total of 120 fictional commercials and 3 real ones (for Twinkies, Purina Cat Chow, and Duracell) in both English and Spanish involving the Energizer Bunny were made.

Eveready v. Coors

In an ironic twist, in 1991, Eveready Battery Company sued the Adolph Coors Company over an ad for Coors beer it was producing, which showed actor Leslie Nielsen in a full-size rabbit suit pounding a drum, which was parodying Eveready's Energizer Bunny commercials, which themselves are parodies of Duracell advertisements and television program previews. Eveready claimed Coors' ad constituted copyright and trademark infringement. The court ruled that Coors' ad was a valid parody of Eveready's, considering that Mr. Nielsen "is not a toy, and does not run on batteries." "Eveready Battery Co. v. Adolph Coors Co.", 765 F. Supp. 440 (N.D. Ill. 1991).

GEICO

The GEICO insurance company ran a series of television commercials in which a victim in a disadvantaged situation hears their fate from the antagonist, that they have good news, only the good news is for the antagonist (The antagonist will usually say as the punchline, "I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to GEICO"). Some examples involved a fictional congressional hearing where the witness (the victim) is being informed he is subject to criminal penalties while the chairman of the committee (the antagonist) has saved money on his car insurance, a home repair show reminiscent of Bob Vila showing a victim couple with a home badly in need of repair, a fictional news report on a volcanic eruption, and a fictional hair restoration commercial. Another example parodied advertisements for reality TV shows, by showing a couple getting married, and getting disgruntled at living in a tiny house (the punchline: a voiceover saying "The drama may be real, but it won't save you any money on car insurance", followed by the wife asking her spouse in their tiny hot tub "Why haven't you called GEICO?").

prite

The Coca-Cola company's lemon-lime soft drink ran a series of ads for other fictional drink products, which had actual or fictional celebrities endorsing the other product, with the implication that the fictional product was inadequate for quenching one's thirst.

aturday Night Live

The American TV sketch comedy series, "Saturday Night Live", produces fictional commercials on a regular basis, shown after the guest host's monologue as an "introductory commercial", prior to the beginning the main show. Many of these ads, while they parody actual TV commercials are simple "comedic parodies" of the "style" of the real advertisement rather than its product.

Carling Black Label

The gimmick of characters from a commercial invading other spoof ads was first used by the British Lager brewers Carling Black Label. The advert featured a wild west outlaw being roped by a posse and dragging them off their horses and into adverts for a love compilation Album and Washing up powder.

Poser Mobile

Poser Mobile ran an advertising campaign for T-Mobile's pay-as-you-go cell phone plan featuring a racially diverse group of hip-hop posers. The group of five ambush the cell phone customer and explain that he has to pay hidden charges and fees. One customer in a commercial calls them "clowns". It is somewhat of a parody on Boost Mobile's "Where You At?" advertising campaign which features prominent hip-hop artists such as Ludacris, Kanye West, and The Game.

Mad TV

"Mad TV" is a long-running sketch comedy show featuring commercials for fake products such as Spishak and for real products.

hort Circuitz

"Short Circuitz", an MTV sketch comedy show starring Nick Cannon, often featured parodies of popular advertisements. Its accompanying website, [http://shortcircuitz.mtv.com ShortCircuitz.mtv.com] , allows users to upload their own parody advertisements to compete for a cash prize and a spot on the show.

Bubble Gang

"Bubble Gang" is a long-running sketch comedy show of GMA Network in the Philippines featuring parodied commercials like "Dioflu", a parody of Bioflu, a brand of paracetamol.

Goin' Bulilit

"Goin' Bulilit" is a long-running sketch comedy show of The ABS-CBN network in the Philippines featuring child versions of commercials.

MasterCard

"MasterCard"’s “priceless” commercials have often been parodied [http://humor.beecy.net/videos/priceless/] . The general theme shows a normal setting where several expenses are listed, but at the end one absurd priceless expense constitutes a punch line.

Magazines

Mad Magazine

Mad Magazine was famous for regularly running obviously fictional ads for nonexistent products. However, many of these nonexistent products were clearly intended to be parodies of specific well-known brands of real-world products; frequently, the fictional advertisement in "Mad" parodied a specific genuine ad campaign for a recognizable brand-name product. For example, in the 1960s (when cigarettes could still be advertised on television), Kent Cigarettes ran a commercial featuring a series of line drawings illustrating the lyrics of a catchy jingle titled "The Taste of Kent". "Mad" promptly ran a fake print ad, using drawings which parodied the style of the line art, illustrating verses about lung cancer and emphysema to a lyric that parodied Kent's jingle, now titled "The Taste of Death".

According to Frank Jacobs's biography "The Mad World of William M. Gaines", Mad's parodies of real advertisements generated so much attention that Mad publisher William Gaines received requests from the promotional departments of many real products, asking Mad to run parodies of their advertisements. Gaines's standard reply to such requests: "Come up with a really stupid ad campaign, and we'll be happy to make fun of it."

Hustler

The most serious incident involving a fictional advertisement in a magazine caused a lawsuit which reached all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, when Hustler Magazine ran a parody of a liquor ad which would ask people about their "first time." In the actual ad, what we are led to believe is that the person is being asked about their first sexual experience, when it turns out the question is about their first time they used the sponsor's product, a liqueur.

In the parody advertisement in "Hustler", the Reverend Jerry Falwell is supposedly quoted describing the first time he had sexual intercourse with his mother in an outhouse while intoxicated. Falwell sued Hustler Magazine and its publisher Larry Flynt for invasion of privacy, libel and emotional distress. The jury found for the magazine on the issue of libel (the fictional advertisement clearly indicated it was a parody), but awarded Mr. Falwell $350,000 in damages for the emotional distress and invasion of privacy claims. The Supreme Court ruled that, since the advertisement was so obviously a parody that no reasonable person could have believed it, Falwell was not libelled and thus is not entitled to damages for emotional distress, and he was not entitled to damages for invasion of privacy because he is a well-known public figure. "Hustler Magazine, Inc. et al. v. Jerry Falwell", 485 U.S. 46, (1988).

Adbusters

The Adbusters Media Foundation's magazine "Adbusters" features [http://adbusters.org/spoofads/index.php advertisement parodies] that are intended as sharp commentary on the social implications of either the product or the advertising campaign involved (also known as "Culture Jamming"). One example is a parody of the "Joe Camel" advertising campaign for Camel Cigarettes, with a pseudo Joe Camel in a hospital bed, his head bald and an intravenous drip bottle leading into his arm, with the legend "Joe Chemo" on the faux ad, implying that the many years of smoking cigarettes has left "Joe" with cancer and requiring chemotherapy treatment. [http://adbusters.org/spoofads/tobacco/jc2/]

Juicy Fruit

The Wrigley's company created fictional print ads, such as boy bands, an upcoming fictional movie poster, and a phony handheld game system.

References