Are Direct TV Commercials Really Disrespectful?
Published October 16th, 2009 | 
If I’m to believe Mark Lorenz’s comments over at Manolith, those DirectTV commercials in which movie footage is altered to pitch for Satellite Directv is disrespectful. I’m not really sure is this opinion is offered seriously as this is the same website that currently hosts and article entitled, "7 Reasons to Have Sex with Republican Women." Nonetheless, Mr. Lorenz points to the most recent direct satellite tv ad featuring Chris Farley from Tommy Boy as an example:
Lately, Direct TV Satellite has been taking classic films, and renovating the scenes digitally to have people talk to you about how awesome [Direct TV ] is. You might remember ones featuring Terminator 2. In this new commercial, which is a clip from the movie Tommy Boy, David Spade talks about how great Direct TV is, with Chris Farley singing “Fat Guy In a Little Coat” in the background. This, understandably, has prompted bad reactions. People have accused David Spade for orchestrating a giant cash grab off of Farley’s image.
Okay, let me get this straight — this is disrespectful for what reason and to who? Chris Farley? You really think Chris Farley wouldn’t have accepted a fat pay check to shill for a satellite company if he were alive today? Hell, I’d venture to guess that he’d be the spokeman for the product and not David Spade if he were alive. And why is this any worse than any other advertisement featuring a celebrity endorsement? Anybody remember June Allison selling Depends undergarments? How is this in any way shape or form worse than any other advertisement?
