Remember those two guys pictured above? They are the slackers who appeared in those incessant Sonic commercials during the mid to late aughts. The duo would go to Sonic, bicker about tater tots or slushies or roller skates or whatever, and...well...that was about it.
At first, their straight man and the funny guy routine was kind of humorous. But after a few years, the bit got old and Sonic replaced the guys with a sarcastic married couple and a soccer mom and her teenage son. Then that stuff quickly got old and Sonic dropped the campaign all together.
Well, have we got some exciting news for you! Those wild and wacky Sonic guys have returned. And guess what??! They want their old jobs back!!! How cute!!!
From an advertorial written by Don Mecoy in today's Oklahoman:
The two actors who gained front-seat fame as the faces of Sonic Drive-In have launched an online crusade to get their jobs back. Like the commercials they once starred in, the effort is humor-driven; Sonic is in on the joke.
“They're shamelessly self-promoting, and we are having fun with this,” said Nancy Love Robertson, vice president of communications at Bricktown-based Sonic Corp.
While the company is coy about its role, Sonic officials' delight in the online antics and the corporate cooperation clearly signal that the company is behind the effort.
“It's a ‘Two Guys' campaign and we are very aware of it,” Robertson said. The improvisational actors, Pete Grosz and TJ Jagodowski, are featured on a website (those2guys.me), a Twitter feed (@those2guys), a Facebook page, a LinkedIn page, an online petition and a series of YouTube videos reminiscent of their past Sonic commercials. The effort also has appeared on Buzzfeed.com in sponsored links.
Grosz and Jagodowski haven't appeared in a Sonic ad for about two years. But they remain in character — and in their proper car seats — during the new videos proportedly created to get their old jobs back.
Geeze, it's good to know those creative juices are flowing inside the Sonic Bricktown Headquarters. Here's how I bet they came up with this marvelous idea:
"Any ideas for a new TV campaign?"
"Hey, I got one! Let's bring back those two dudes who sat in the car and talked about Sonic!"
"Well, didn't we stop that campaign just a few years ago because it became tired and stale?"
"Yes, we did, but people would love it if we brought them back. Plus we can start some contrived social media marketing campaign!!!"
"That's a good point. Our bosses love it when we use buzz words like Social Media. And it's not like anyone has any better, more creative ideas. Does anyone know a writer for the Oklahoman who will cover this?"
"I do. By the way, I also talked with the Spurs about having us sponsor their home playoff t-shirts."
"Good idea."
If they gave out an Addy Award for the least creative ad campaign of 2012, this one would have to be a frontrunner. What a boring idea! Even Jim Traber's marveled by it's lack of energy and overall laziness.
If Sonic is going to recycle an old ad campaign, they should bring back Frankie Avalon and the Beach Boys songs. Sure, those commercials sucked too, but at least they would be fresh and nostalgic and show girls in bikinis hula-hooping. If that didn't work, they should go steal the kid from the Del Rancho "Steak Sandwich Supreme" commercial. Sure, it has nothing to do with Sonic, but it's better than bring two guys who haven't been funny since 2006.
Also, I wonder how much Sonic paid the Oklahoman to write this story? Did they install a Sonic ice machine in the Oklahoman cafeteria? Did they promise Don Mecoy and Richard Mize free slushies and coneys? Did they let Steve Lackmeyer touch one of the bricks on their Bricktown headquarters? Who knows.
