Aside from the generally abysmal brand advertising we all had to suffer during this year's Super Bowl (especially all the ads clearly inspired by "Avatar," those creepy, need-to-be-retired E*Trade talking babies, and that colossally pointless Google spot ... but definitely check out this hilarious parody, taking Tiger Woods down yet one more notch), the other tedious thing about those endless commercial pods were the incessant, grating promos for CBS's prime-time shows ... with the singular exception of the genius pitch for "The Late Show," featuring Dave with his BFF (Oprah) and biggest foe (Leno). To us, it was the very best moment of the whole evening (minus the Saints' big win, duh) in that it was that truly rare thing in marketing: a real surprise, and an honest-to-God inspired idea. It even managed the impossible: making Leno seem (shudder) funny, even likable. To think, Leno's come to despise his own network to the point that he (a) was moved to finally, officially, publicly bury the hatchet with Dave after all these years and (b) go on his chief rival's net to promote his show, and during the Super Bowl no less! Consider this most public of all NBC insults just one more nail in Zucker's coffin. RELATED: The Times's Bill Carter has the skinny on how the whole Letterman promo went down, including Leno and Oprah's stealth trips to NYC and The Ed Sullivan Theater ... and Zucker giving Leno his blessing to shoot the spot (??). And speaking of the only special-needs child to ever run a network, No. 1 Zucker hater Nikki Finke also deemed this year's ads the "worst ever" (and as we all know, hers is the only opinion that counts).
Sunday, February 7
Leno and Oprah Promote Letterman Show in Most Brilliant Super Bowl Moment (Meanwhile, What the Hell Was That Pointless Google Spot?)
Aside from the generally abysmal brand advertising we all had to suffer during this year's Super Bowl (especially all the ads clearly inspired by "Avatar," those creepy, need-to-be-retired E*Trade talking babies, and that colossally pointless Google spot ... but definitely check out this hilarious parody, taking Tiger Woods down yet one more notch), the other tedious thing about those endless commercial pods were the incessant, grating promos for CBS's prime-time shows ... with the singular exception of the genius pitch for "The Late Show," featuring Dave with his BFF (Oprah) and biggest foe (Leno). To us, it was the very best moment of the whole evening (minus the Saints' big win, duh) in that it was that truly rare thing in marketing: a real surprise, and an honest-to-God inspired idea. It even managed the impossible: making Leno seem (shudder) funny, even likable. To think, Leno's come to despise his own network to the point that he (a) was moved to finally, officially, publicly bury the hatchet with Dave after all these years and (b) go on his chief rival's net to promote his show, and during the Super Bowl no less! Consider this most public of all NBC insults just one more nail in Zucker's coffin. RELATED: The Times's Bill Carter has the skinny on how the whole Letterman promo went down, including Leno and Oprah's stealth trips to NYC and The Ed Sullivan Theater ... and Zucker giving Leno his blessing to shoot the spot (??). And speaking of the only special-needs child to ever run a network, No. 1 Zucker hater Nikki Finke also deemed this year's ads the "worst ever" (and as we all know, hers is the only opinion that counts).
