Described by the host as “one of the greatest characters in the history of television” during a Jimmy Kimmel’s Live show, this character — portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito and beloved by many fans — is making a surprise return to the world of television with an ordinary (and yet brilliant) ad picturing him and his family business. Who are we talking about? And what’s this family business?
Gus Fring. A feared, and prominent methamphetamine distributor that featured on the critically appraised, and even more successful TV show about a dying teacher who decides to become a drug overlord – Breaking Bad. Los Pollos Hermanos. Fring’s fast-food-fried-chicken chain of restaurants represents a successful family fast-food joint that has their drivers deliver the illegal substance. If you don’t know yet, both the notorious villain Fring, and his successful business acting as a front for a vast drug operation, are making a comeback in the third season of Breaking Bad spin-off titled ‘Better Call Saul’.
The 30-second ad, that could be easily mistaken for a general fast food commercial like KFC, comes with a similarly dull tagline: “Los Pollos Hermanos—Taste the Family!” Still, it has created a great deal of response in both social media (with over a half million views on Esposito’s Facebook page), and regular magazines like Vanity Fair, or LA Times. This means that the viewers are going to see “some of the backstory of Gus and how he rose to power and how he came to be”, as revealed by Giancarlo Esposito in his latest interview for AMC about his new, yet familiar, exciting role.
As the season 3 premieres on Monday, April 10th on AMC, it is not the first time the American cable and satellite TV channel — that has introduced us with another highly popular show ‘The Walking Dead’ – uses a fake commercial to promote the show.
Back in 2014, the show used a prop billboard that was erected in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which depicted the main protagonist in his James M. McGill days (a much younger version of Saul before starring during the Breaking Bad era). When people tried calling the number, to their surprise they realized that it actually works, with the following recorded message greeting them after making the call:
“Hello! You’ve reached the law office of James M McGill esquire, a lawyer you can trust. Kindly leave your information at the tone and Mr McGill will phone you promptly.”
What’s also interesting is the approach of Better Call Saul creators, Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, who created a coy ‘Easter Egg’ anagram of F-R-I-N-G-S B-A-C-K by hiding it into the Season 2 titles, even before they had closed a deal with Esposito. Looks like Mr. Robot is not the only show with such an interesting hidden message.
When it comes to fake campaigns there is aplenty to choose from – an agency in Argentina created a one to lure people into trying out a dog’s head which was filled with speaker that would, to their surprise, play the sound of fireworks 7 times louder, so the pranked listener would feel what’s it like to be in dog’s ‘skin’ for a night full of exploding pyrotechnics.
Another fake campaign, this time for popular streetwear brand Adidas has gone viral in recent weeks. It shows an elderly athlete trapped inside a nursing home, trying to break free. Although the video was rejected by the company, it is definitely one to watch as well.
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