One definition of advertising is: Popular culture, plagiarized, then made worse. As evidence for such a definition, I offer the latest ad campaign from Klondike Bar, which manages to copy, almost exactly, the chest waxing scene in 40 Year Old Virgin (so blatantly that I suppose one could guess it is intentional–the fact that the ad runs widely in movie theaters supports this idea), then makes it less funny by “upping the ante” and implying the man also has his balls waxed. Copywriting genius.
But the implied waxed balls are nothing compared to the balls Klondike has by ripping off not one, but two Apatow movies in the same campaign by tagging this ad (not seen in the clip above), with their new website, the Mancave. If that term sounds vaguely familiar it’s because it’s ripped straight out of Apatow’s, I Love You Man. Apparently there’s a copywriter somewhere who is really into Apatow, so much so that he wanted to honor his work by removing it from a humorous context and putting it within a thinly transparent plea to get Men, 18-34, interested in ice cream bars.
A bigger point should be made that the iconic trademark (“What would you do for a Klondike Bar?), which is the only original aspect of the ad campaign, doesn’t even make sense. Why are people being forced to suffer needlessly to get their hands on Klondike bars, when they can be found literally overflowing from the shelves of any major grocery store? Does anyone believe this memorable tagline has actually helped sell ice cream? Well, of course in the world of madvertising, there’s always a way to spin the numbers to make even the lamest campaign a smashing success. As in, the following.
Call me cynical, but I’ve always thought Eskimo Pies tasted better anyways.