Hasta La Creative!

At a time when young people have a conflicted relationship with police, it’s good to know there’s one reliable voice of unity: Zack Morris, circa 1991.

The Philadelphia Police Department, which is no stranger to odd, retro memes and callbacks, has resurrected an anti-drugs PSA from the George H.W. Bush years. The clip replaces NBC exec Brandon Tartikoff with the poorly Photoshopped head of Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who also dubs in his own somber name drop. 

The whole thing is so weird and lazy and baffling, it’s quickly generated national attention.

The department’s social media director, Sgt. Eric Gripp, told the Daily News that his original idea was to replace each cast member’s head with someone from the police department, but when schedules didn’t allow for that much customization, he just dropped in the commissioner and called it a day. 

“I showed [the video] to him and he laughed,” Gripp told the Daily News. “Fortunately for me the boss is very down-to-earth and has a great sense of humor.”

Of course, one would hope the police department got the appropriate copyright permissions from NBC to use the clip. We’ve asked the department about that aspect and will update if we hear back.

While many are charmed by the spot’s low-budget quirk value, a skeptical AV Club asks some valid questions about the clip’s audience and message: “Who is this appealing to—people in their 30s and 40s who have probably already determined their feelings on pot? And if they are so stringent on marijuana laws, why are they not as strict about copyright infringement?”

Here’s another retro, repurposed clip the department posted earlier this year:

You got a taste the other day. But now it’s time for the whole damn gluten-stuffed main course, as NBC Sports has rolled out its complete two-minute video with Nick Offerman singing gloriously about Nascar.

It’s a match made in heaven, really, as Offerman brings his world-weary, manly-man persona to the topic of America having gone soft, and needing the adrenaline shot of auto racing—along with all the accoutrements that culture brings, like grilled meats and American flag thongs—to set things right.

The video was made in-house, with Hungry Man’s Dave Laden directing. A 60-second version will air right after the final whistle of NBC’s Super Bowl telecast this Sunday, starting the network’s engines nicely as it returns to broadcasting Nascar this summer.

Below, check out the script and credits.

SCRIPT
America, it’s time for a gut check.
If the founding fathers saw us huddled in our little cocoons, texting each other smiley faces,
They’d hang their powdered wigs in shame.
When our idea of danger is eating gluten, there’s trouble afoot.
Yes, we the people have gotten soft, and all the likes in the world aren’t gonna save us now.
But one thing will.
Welcome to the place where we speed all day
Where we bump and grind in a non-sexual way
Where scores are settled, and we break the rules
And everybody’s got a set of badass tools
Get some NASCAR in your life
Hello glory, goodbye strife
Welcome to the place that we call home
Where meats are grilled and you can bring your own
Where everyone’s welcome and we all belong
Even my friend in his American flag thong
Get some NASCAR in your life
Hug your kids and kiss your wife
You want Billy and Sally to learn about math and science?
Send them to the school of NASCAR, they’ll thank you for it.
Sure everybody at NASCAR gets a trophy
As long as they win the f**king race
Watch your mouth
Did you know that less than 10 miles from Sonoma Raceway you can go wine tasting?
True story.
Get some NASCAR in your life
Slap some butter on your knife
Welcome to the place where your beast is freed
Like the rubber hooves of a tire stampede
Where men and women compete together
Just like they did back in the 18-nevers
200 miles per freaking hour
700 freaking horse freaking power
VO: Neck and neck, the battle is down this last stretch/
And Offerman takes Harvick to the checkered flag
There’s Harvick, Logano and Hamlin and Newman
Keselowski, Dale Jr, they’re all super human
Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, the Busches
And maybe Jimmie Johnson will come back and kick some tuchus
Hello glory, goodbye strife
You’ve got NASCAR
In. Your. Life.

CREDITS
Client: NBC Sports Agency
John Miller – CMO
Bill Bergofin – SVP Marketing/ECD
Lorin Finkelstein – VP Brand/Co-ECD
Lindsay Davenport – Producer

Production Company: Hungry Man
Allan Broce – EP/CD
Dave Laden – Director
Eric Schmidt – DP
Erin Sullivan – Producer
Craig Repass – Line Producer

Editorial: Rock Paper Scissors
VFX: The Mill
Music: Beacon Street

NBC's Community regularly pays tribute to its characters' pop culture obsessions, but it still came out of left field when the last episode focused on protagonist Jeff's love of G.I. Joe. 

Not a knockoff legally distinct from G.I. Joes, either, but the actual Joe toys and cartoons themselves, both owned whole cloth by Hasbro, which is apparently totally cool with integrating its product into a really good episode of an extremely dark comedy (Jeff was hallucinating about children's toys after mixing anti-aging pills and alcohol).

Update: Hasbro's Mike Vogel says he loved the episode. "They made all the toys and did all of the designs and animation themselves," Vogel told us. "However we did work with them every step of the way to ensure authenticity. The Community team sent us the script, all of the character designs, props, backgrounds, etc. It was actually a very easy process. The Community team are all clearly such hardcore G.I. Joe fans that they made sure everything was 100 percent authentic before they sent it to us. Their love for the brand was apparent in everything they did and we couldn't be more thrilled with how it all turned out!" (Who wants to bet Jeff mixes less funny meds with his booze in draft 1?)

One of the best things showrunner Dan Harmon and his team managed to do was include some slightly too real advertisements for toys based on the characters:

It's all series accurate, too. Overly earnest feminist Britta is "Buzzkill," uptight Annie is "Tight Ship," motherhood-crazed Shirley is "Three Kids," meta Abed is "Fourth Wall," and Jeff Winger is "Wingman." Each sold separately. And if the show taught us one thing, it's that collecitng 1980s military toys is a perfectly reasonable obsessi … er, hobby for an adult man and there is nothing unusual about it. 

And of course the episode had to include one of G.I. Joe's "Knowing Is Half the Battle" PSAs featuring characters from the show:

We'd post more of the ads, but they seriously make up about a third of the episode, so just check out the whole thing below:

It was a mixed bag for TV generally in 2013, but not a bad year for TV promos—in fact, some of the most inventive ads on the dial (or the Web) were from folks promoting new or returning shows.

For the most part, good marketers eschewed parades of "Our show is so great!" quotes, cliffhangery snippets of dialogue and trying to unironically mimic movie trailers—and just let a few powerful images, or sometimes a single powerful image, speak to the viewer. Sometimes it was a clever in-joke, sometimes a stylish montage, sometimes the sheer chutzpah of the idea. But we picked 10 of the promos that wowed us the most from a surprisingly large pool of good creative.

From edgy cable fare like Archer to a broad network series like Community, there was plenty to love before the show even started. Tell us what you think (and what we missed) in the comments.

We've all been there. Heartbroken, bearded and alone. This is place that some might call "the dumps," an unbearable place full of darkness, loneliness and misery. It's all because you've been without "the one" for far too long. (It reminds me very much of the time my dog ran away when I was 5. I still wonder where Kujo is. Or that time my 7th grade girlfriend left me because I got braces.) And even though Blake Shelton takes you fishing to cheer you up, it's not working. You still miss 'em. I guess the only thing left to do is belt out arguably the most passionate lyrics ever laid to vinyl: "Reunited," by Peaches and Herb. 

Before you know it, the sun will shine again, the animals will begin to chirp again, and Christina Aguilera's angelic voice will rise behind you—seconds before she pulls a Jesus and walks on water to join you and Blake. If that's not magical enough for you, there's more. Moments later, Poseidon, ah hem, the great Cee Lo Green, emerges with three lovely mermaids to round out the hook. "Reunited and it feels so good!"

At this point, you may have a hard time believing what you've just witnessed, but what the hell. The band is finally back together! Or is it? This all can't be real, right? Guess, we'll have to tune into NBC's The Voice on Sept. 23 to see if dreams really do come true.