Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Sub-Optimal Walken Experience: Kia’s Super Bowl Ad Blows a Great Bad Pun

Christopher Walken Kia Optima Super Bowl Ad

We love a good pun. Or a bad pun. Or any pun at all, really. To wit, there may have been an instant messenger conversation the other day where we labored to fit the names of hardcore musicians and bands into those of motorcycles, resulting in such semi-amusing groaners as the Ducati Multistradag Nasty, the Yamaha Tesco Vee-Max, and the Honda Bold Wing. But the joy of the most unfortunate examples of humor’s lowest form lies in the “Dude, you went there, to that horrible place” factor. Regrettably in its new Super Bowl ad, Kia gives it away with the title: “Walken Closet.”

Predictably, the ad features Christopher Walken in a walk-in closet. When the suburban-wife character tells her beige-clad dad-bodded schlub of a husband to look for his socks in the homonymous “Walken closet,” we already know what’s coming.





In a pre-Internet age, this ad would’ve been an absolute delight viewed during the game, when we had no idea what was coming next. But in the time of YouTube, when manufacturers want to build buzz for their expensive spots and get them in front of eyeballs that may be on other things on Super Bowl Sunday, the publicity ruins the surprise. On the other hand, while surprise Walken may be better than expected Walken, expected Walken still beats no Walken at all.


from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com/sub-optimal-walken-experience-kias-super-bowl-ad-blows-a-great-bad-pun/


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