MacGyver Saves the Day Yet Again

…And all he needed was a really bad wig.

Those familiar with SNL’s not-so-new (and in my opinion not-so-funny) “MacGruber” skit, know it’s a spoof of the 1980’s television series “MacGyver.” Unfortunately for me, the skit no longer stays within the hours of SNL airings. If you watched this year’s Super Bowl you may have spotted MacGruber and the real MacGyver starring together in a Pepsi commercial–a move some are considering the newest breakthrough for the advertising industry.

I was lucky enough to be watching when this unique commercial aired during last week’s big game (30-60 seconds of my life I will never get back), and I have to admit, the collaborative sneaky-ness of Pepsi and SNL producer Lorne Michaels got my attention.

It was still a scripted skit, but it had all the ingredients of a Madison Avenue ad: Attempted humor, a recognizable character, and brand exposure GALORE. Viewers’ eyes were automatically directed to the familiar red, white and blue cans as SNL funny-man Will Forte repeatedly said “Pepsi” over and over (and over) again until eventually demanding he be called “PepSuber.” Ridiculous? Yes…but clever, as well.

On average, Americans are subjected to 3,000 advertisements per day–per person. Every billboard we drive by, bus that passes in front of us, commercial break we don’t pay attention to, and movie preview we fast-forward through is an attempt to get our attention. As a result, ignoring advertisements has become second nature to most of us, which makes this Mac-whoever invasion so tempting for the world of Integrated Marketing.

The truth is, since the rise of the Internet, advertisers have been competing to see who can come up with the trendiest form of advertising first. We now see pop-ups and banner ads in every margin of every web page; We are forced to watch commercials while viewing online television episodes, and must wait for an ad to disappear before beginning the next level of an iPhone game.

And of course now there’s MacGruber…skit star on Saturdays and Pepsi spokesperson every other day. What’s next? It’s not official, but I’ve heard whispers of Coke retaliating with “Night Spider,” the Toby MacGuire impersonation of David Hasselhoff.

View the Mac-nightmare here, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.