Watch: The absurd ad 'Last Week Tonight' wrote for a Minnesota car dealership
John Oliver, the host of HBO's Last Week Tonight, was a bit upset when he learned several car dealerships all used the same script for a commercial.
So Oliver and his team wrote a new ad — and a Minnesota dealership agreed to produce it, sight unseen.
The original ads Oliver was perturbed by all featured someone dressed as a pickle, saying something along the lines of: "I'm in a pickle ... my doctor told me to turn it down a notch so my heart doesn't explode."
Here's Steve Johnson of Zumbrota Ford during his dealership's version of the commercial:
Oliver, in a web exclusive update on Sunday, said it's a "real shame because, at their best, local car ads should be unique and completely unhinged ― not franchised out, making nothing special anymore.”
To solve this problem, Oliver and his team wrote an advertisement of their own for one auto dealer who agreed to produce the commercial without reading the script beforehand.
Johnson and Zumbrota Ford said yes.
“I would argue that that was a hell of an offer on our part, and to be honest, quite a risk for someone to take on,” Oliver said. “Do you really think we could be trusted with a situation like that? Because I definitely don’t.”
There were several car dealerships interested and in Sunday's video update, he said the ad will run in the Zumbrota area Minnesota this week. Oliver describes it as a "tense domestic psychodrama" that was "mainly about a marriage in serious trouble."
The script starts with the line, "Storm's coming any minute now." And their spouse responding, "I want a divorce."
Oliver said to the dealership's "eternal credit, they threw themselves at the source material."
He then unveiled the ad on the web segment, which did feature Johnson in his pickle suit. You can watch it below:
