Sponsored content can be OK sometimes.
Case in point, the folks at Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s collaborated with the Adult Swim show Rick and Morty to make a glorious 30-second spot based on the show.
For those not familiar with Rick and Morty, the show follows the travels of the alcoholic super-scientist Rick and his nervous and easily influenced grandson Morty, as they travel across space and get into mostly chaotic adventures. The show was created by Dan Harmon (Community) and Justin Roiland (Adventure Time) and is thoroughly unique, vulgar and entertaining. In my opinion, it’s the best animated show on TV, by far.
Back to the spot. The ad is just like the show. Morty is sleeping when Rick bursts into his room with a megaphone, and tells him he’s in a Carl’s Jr. / Hardees commercial and starts introducing burgers from the restaurant. The anthropomorphic burgers enter his room as Morty protests, and their animation doesn’t skip a beat - they’re not drawn to look overly appetizing, they leak all over his room - and are done in the style of the show. One of them starts stealing from Morty. It’s bonkers.
While some people may hate seeing their favorite show turned into an ad, Rick and Morty fans seem totally cool with it as it gives them more time with their favorite characters, and doesn’t sacrifice its integrity for the sake of the ad. It embraces being an ad, but does so in its own unique, tongue and cheek way. The spot already has over 700,000 hits and hugely positive like to dislike ratio. Props for Carl’s Jr for doing a commercial that’s not sexist drivel.
This commercial will give Rick and Morty fans the fix they need, as season two just wrapped up and the show isn’t rumored to return until 2017.
