Time shift foils me again!

Share This Post

One of my favorite TV shows right now is Suburgatory. I DVR it every week, and as horrible as this is, even though I work in marketing and advertising, when I play it back I fast forward right through the commercials. (I can hear the gasps of my colleagues now.)
However, when I was watching Suburgatory last week, I was tricked into watching a commercial.
Yes, Lowe’s brilliantly tricked me into watching their commercial with a little gem of an ad featuring one of the characters from Suburgatory, Sheila Shay (played by one of my comedic loves, former Saturday Night Live cast member, Ana Gasteyer). As I was fast forwarding through the other commercials, I saw Sheila, thought the commercial break was over, and resumed watching.
At first I could tell something was a little off with the storyline, but it took me the entire commercial to realize that I wasn’t watching Suburgatory at all — but Sheila Shay in a commercial for Lowe’s. Drat! Foiled again!
We’ve all seen actors from our favorite TV shows appear in commercials, but never had I seen the actor in a commercial — playing the character of the show I’m watching — during the commercial break.
Mind = blown.
In the age of commercial-skipping DVR users like me, I think this strategy is genius. What do you think? Would seeing your favorite TV show character in a commercial trick you into watching?

More To Explore

Paul Rand Current360 Hero Image

Who Influenced the Influencers?

In advertising, pretty much everyone has been influenced by someone else. As we’ve been bringing you stories about ad legends like Bill Bernbach and George

Contact Us

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Chaney Given

Chaney is a talented and accomplished designer and illustrator, who has expanded his skill set to include motion graphics and video editing. With nearly a decade of experience, his client work includes Waterstep, Baptist Health, the Archdiocese of Louisville Catholic Schools, First Harrison Bank, and many more