Back with another gem from the ’90s.
Advertising was really simple in the ’90s… get somebody famous. Your commercial is a steaming pile of corny dog poop? Doesn’t matter, we got somebody famous.
Of course, celebrity endorsements are still a huge part of the ad budget these days as well, but with the emergence of influencers and even micro-influencers, brands have been able to drive the attention with more niche brand ambassadors. It’s cheaper, perhaps more effective in some ways, but for the average consumer… it just doesn’t quite hit the same way. Just not as memorable…
For example, you have the classic John Wayne and R. Lee Ermey Coors Banquet commercial, Alan Jackson and Clint Black’s Miller Lite spot, Johnny Cash and Taco Bell, Dale Sr. for Sun Drop, George Strait’s Bud Light ads, Charlie Daniels with Skoal, Alan Jackson with Ford AND Miller Lite… the list of gold is endless. They just stick in your mind like the timeless classics that they are.
And today, we’re taking it back to 1996 for a Pizza Hut spot with two country legends… Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.
“I gotta eat mine wrongways…”
Man, I miss the ’90s… and stuffed crust Pizza Hut.
Willie Nelson: The Master Of Commercials
Back in the ’90s, we saw Willie Nelson create a legendary song and commercial for Taco Bell’s brand new “Steak Burrito Supreme,” and he even did a Pizza Hut commercial with Johnny Cash himself.
And even at 90 years old, he’s still doing Super Bowl ads to this day. Earlier this year, Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart once again teamed up for a new installment of their 2023 pre-Super Bowl ad featuring the BIC EZ Reach lighter.
In 2023, they premiered their Most Borrowed Lighter commercial, after Martha and Snoop starred in a commercial called Pass It the year prior. The NFL does currently have a ban on ads featuring cannabis, so they skirt the outright reference to weed, but it’s still pretty funny, nonetheless.
This time, Willie is seen on a video call with Martha and Snoop, where he tells them that his EZ Reach is perfect for “lighting bowls,” to which Martha responds cheekily:
“Of floating candles?”
They continue to discuss other options for use of the lighter, and Snoop points out that Willie is actually using one that belongs to him.
Willie says that he only “borrowed” it, though when Snoop says that he’s been “hard to reach” since Willie has taken the lighter, the connection suddenly becomes unstable. Katty Pien, BIC VP of Marketing, says this campaign has “transcended generations,” and provided real results in terms of sales of the lighter:
“This campaign transcends generations and we can see from the strong consumer engagement that it continues to resonate and drive sales.”
I mean, it’s hard to imagine a more iconic trio, especially when it comes to promoting a lighter for purposes such as the ones they name in the commercial below:
Last year’s installment of the ad campaign:
Willie has previously starred in some huge Super Bowl commercial slots, most recently a Skechers ad called Legalize in 2022:
