David Spade, a Saturday Night Live cast member for five years, returned to the show over the weekend to host it for the second time. The most high-profile gig he’s had lately (if you don’t count 8 Simple Rules or Racing Stripes, in which he was the voice of a horsefly with an attitude) is the Capital One ad campaign, in which he stars as the “No” guy. And Spade knows it: On Saturday, he briefly plugged the upcoming SNL DVD release featuring his “best of” but spent almost all of his intro discussing Cap One. He took “questions” from the audience, like “Do you think you’ll ever say yes?” and “What’s next for the Capital One guy?” When one audience member asked him if his commercials are better than the film Ray, Spade answered, “They’re different. Both have interesting characters that you care about. ... I see my commercials as little 30-second movies.” In the ads, Spade represents the epitome of bad customer service. (In attitude, he’s a lot like his Finch character from Just Shoot Me.) It’s more entertaining than the typical Capital One fare, which usually involves a pissed-off warrior of some kind. But some viewers have to walk away thinking, no = Capital One, not yes = Capital One, which is the point of No Hassle Rewards. Still, to Spade’s point about interesting characters, his dismissive act has worked like a charm since his old “Bye Bye” flight-attendant skit on SNL.

—Posted by Eleftheria Parpis