Here it is. THE SPOT that generated the most controversy during Mr. Invincible's four-year run on Newstalk 780 KOH. (The only other time we got called into our boss's office was when we produced a skit for the Breakfast Club called "The Grassy Knoll Hotel & Casino", but that's another story.)
We certainly meant well. What's funny is that now Viagra and many other, uh, helpful men's ads are now everywhere; there probably wouldn't be any trouble with it now. However, this was 1998, and some stuffed shirt got all bent out of shape. (Pardon the pun. I could go on like this, but I won't.)
Anyway. I'm not sure how we got the idea, but I can say it did come to us at 3AM, right in the middle of the overnight shift. We wrote and produced it with blazing speed...and as always, there was a serious point to be made (be careful with medication while driving.) However, there's no denying the extreme nature of our silliness...indeed, you can sort of hear us struggling to hold it together, and not blow the take by laughing....and just what in God's name is Mr. Invincible doing in that car??
Viagra was just starting to become famous, and just the word Viagra was enough to start incessant giggling. We will never forget playing the spot -off the air, mind you- for Don Marchand, who at the time was the Sports Director at KOH; he was shrieking, gasping for breath, saying "Play it again! Play it again!" Indeed, it seemed anyone that we played it for was convulsed with laughter.
Imagine our dismay, a few days later, when we were informed that the spot had been pulled.
That's right. Somebody had complained- and it wasn't just anybody. It was actually someone from within the Nevada Highway Patrol. That's right: the very organization that we had created "Mr. Invincible" for no longer wanted any part of it, didn't want to be associated with it.
Never mind that we had barely even been thanked for all our trouble. Never mind that we had contributed literally hundreds of production hours in writing, producing and performing these spots, without any contribution from the NHP whatsoever- and not to mention the incalculable value of the donation of KOH airtime to each and every one of those spots. We weren't even getting paid extra for them outside from our normal (small) salaries; Phil & I had simply donated all of our time and talent in the hopes of raising awareness about traffic safety. Nope. It's time to complain. Incredible.
Luckily, we had a staunch ally in our Program Director, Dan Mason, who had no other choice but to pull it; he said "To hell with them, we'll make these traffic safety spots our own". And from that point on, KOH was the sole sponsor of Mr. Invincible, with no connection at all to the Nevada Highway Patrol. We eventually did a "response" spot to the controversy, "Mr. Invincible #16: Viagra Version Two", in an attempt to quiet everyone down; we never did hear anything about it ever again, though.
Anyway. This is the complete, original spot in its gleeful unedited form. And I stand by every word I've said regarding this spot, on and off the air.
Photos from:
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