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Culture Shock

Chris Farlely, back from the dead -- to sell DirectTV

By now I'm assuming many of you have seen this DirectTV ad in which the late Chris Farley's "Fat Guy in a Little Coat" bit from Tommy Boy is used to sell the service, with a very much alive David Spade inserted into the scene to pitch for the company.

I can't decide if I think this is totally off-sides. I mean - I didn't balk when William Shatner was re-inserted onto the bridge of the Enterprise or even when they did one of these ads with Poltergeist, featuring a dead Heather O'Rourke.

Maybe it's just because Farley's death was so tragic and I actually remember it...but there's something off-putting about this one.

What's your call? Is using dead celebrities to sell products -- especially those who left before they should have -- inherently unethical?

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Posted by Joe Killian on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 10:51 am

What do you think?

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Gerald Witt

October 28, 2009 - 11:38 am EDT

Didn't John Wayne appear in a Pepsi ad a while back?

The Simpsons had a good spoof on the use of dead celebrities in its most recent Treehouse of Horror. Good yuk-yuks for that one.

K Smith

November 3, 2009 - 11:49 am EST

Maybe Directv should start talking to (Lohan's, Winehouse's) people now - I mean that opportunity has to be coming up soon. Check this link out I found on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEMg90MgNbg LOL