Skip Channel4 main Navigation
“I know him!” That’s a familiar shout that can be heard throughout the land during any given commercial break. The chances are that the person exclaiming that utterance doesn’t really “know” the person starring in the advert; they just recognise the face or voice from another TV programme. Therein lies the crux of what we’re about to get to grips with – sometimes actors, performers, and, yes, even comedians, sway from what they’re famed for to take on the cringe worthy and perilous seas of advertisements. A famous face can often sell a product better than a product can sell itself, but why do the celebs agree to sell the product in the first place? Because they ardently believe in the integrity of the brand? Yeah, right…
It’s not just one time actors from Family Affairs that get caught up in the money-grabbing world of commercials, oh no! Sometimes even Britain’s most beloved funny men and women find themselves publicising potpourri just for an extra bit of pocket money. So read on as we take a look at ten adverts where comedians have attempted to flog us goods for no good reason.
Mitchell and Webb – PC versus Mac
Now, don’t get us wrong, we love MaW (Mitchell and Webb) as much as the next person (and the next person happens to love them very much indeed, ok?), but PC vs Mac? No, no, no! David Mitchell plays the personification of a PC (boring, formal, old-fashioned) whereas Robert Webb plays a Mac (smart-casual, fun, youthful). The whole series of ads just makes the duo seem very smug indeed, but still, compared to the men who feature in the American version of PC versus Mac, MaW seem very welcoming indeed. PC versus Mac? Think we’ll dig up our Commodore 64s, actually.
Lee and Herring at Tedstock performing their own take on PC versus Mac
Katherine Parkinson – Maltesers
Katherine pushes Jen her office based character from IT Crowd to the wayside as she plays a wholly different office based character who positively guffaws over the delights of Maltesers. Somehow the chocolate biscuit balls end up making Katherine’s co-worker show off her bust. In the words of the person who uploaded the ad to YouTube, “mildly amusing”.
Julian Barratt – Metz
Julian Barratt working as a “freelance scientist”, behind a bar, with an eye patch? Surely this is an episode of Mighty Boosh? No, this is Julian pre-Boosh fame selling alcopops. Hey, we’ve all got to start somewhere.
Kevin Bishop – Natwest
By now you should know Kevin Bishop. He’s got his on show on Channel 4 (Fridays, 10pm), he’s in Star Stories and (get this!) he was in Muppets Treasure Island! What a legend. However, if you don’t know from those appearances you may know him from the Natwest commercials. Kev stands out as the straight man in a group of inept bankers who seem intent on using stupid ideas to capture their market. Like the Orange cinema ads, but less funny.
Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer – Renault Clio
When we first considered comedians in commercials we immediately thought of Vic Reeves as the voice of the Churchill Insurance dog, but then, after realising that those ads were never actually funny, we rediscovered the 1998 Vic and Bob Renault Clio commercial that signalled an end to the longstanding saga of “Nicole, Papa”. Vic’s about to marry Nicole, but, a la The Graduate, Bob crashes the wedding and elopes with Nicole in a nifty French motor. I’m pretty sure THAT didn’t happen in The Graduate…
