The Ron Burgundy blitz continues. Now, instead of congratulating movie stars on landing porny roles or hawking Dodge Durangos, Will Ferrell is making your wildest dreams come true by co-hosting, in Anchorman 2 character, an actual news broadcast for CBS affiliate KXMB-TV in Bismarck, N.D.
Life may imitate art, but reality is, sadly, more boring than fiction. Burgundy, on an actual journalistic leash, is not as entrancingly dumb as the Burgundy of Hollywood fantasy. Still, try not to crack a smile when he compliments the local weatherman, or narrates a nearby parking-lot trash fire.
The gimmick may not be as brilliant or fresh as Ferrell's North Platte, Neb., Super Bowl ad for Old Milwaukee. But it's hard not not to be amused that he's back on small-town American airwaves, even though he really is everywhere these days.
As we mentioned on Friday, Ferrell has filmed some spots for the Dodge Durango as his Anchorman character ahead of the release of Paramount Pictures' Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. Check out the first six spots below. The first few aired on TV this weekend, and Ferrell perfects the role of comically idiotic pitchman—with help from a roomy glove box and a "worthless" horse. The ballroom spots will premiere tonight on Dancing With the Stars.
Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore., worked with Funny or Die writers on the scripts. FoD's production arm, Gifted Youth, which also produced Ferrell's famously offbeat Old Milwaukee ads, teamed with Caviar to co-produce this work. This is just the beginning, too. Chrysler chief marketing officer Olivier Francois told the ANA Masters of Marketing conference in Phoenix on Friday that this is "just a little appetizer," and that Chrysler was producing another 67 videos for the Web. "It's massive," he said.
CREDITS Client: Dodge Durango
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore. Creative Directors: Aaron Allen, Kevin Jones, Michael Tabtabai Copywriter: Mike Egan Art Director: John Dwight Interactive Art Director: Chuck Carlson Producer: Monica Ranes Account Team: Kyleen Caley, Lani Reichenbach Business Affairs Manager: Dusty Slowik Executive Producer: Corey Bartha Executive Creative Directors: Joe Staples, Susan Hoffman Head of Production: Ben Grylewicz
Co-Writing Company: Funny or Die
Production Companies: The Gifted Youth, Caviar Director: Jake Syzmanski Executive Producers (Gifted Youth): Chris Bruss, Dal Wolf, Josh Martin, Ryan McNeely Executive Producers (Caviar): Jasper Thomlinson, Michael Sagol Line Producer: Stephan Mohammed Director of Photography: Tim Hudson
Editing Company: Arcade Editor: Geoff Hounsell Post Producer: Leslie Carthy Post Executive Producer: Nicole Visram
Visual Effects Company: Method Visual Effects Supervisor: Ben Walsh Lead Flame Artist: Claus Hansen Visual Effects Producer: Colin Clarry Executive Producer: Robert Owens Titles, Graphics: Trailer Park, W+K Motion
Color Correction: Company 3 Colorist: Dave Hussey DI Producer: Denise Brown
Song: “Grazing in The Grass,” The Friends of Distinction
Mix Company: Barking Owl Mixer: Brock Babcock Producer: Kelly Bayett
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