UPDATE: Cheez-It deleted the offending ad at some point after this post went live.
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We can think of several campaigns that have aped the style of Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show, Great Job in recent years, but perhaps none so blatantly as this new Facebook video for Kellogg’s Cheez-it.
A Cheez-It and a chip together? #mindblown
Posted by Cheez-It on Monday, March 28, 2016
Here’s the original, which comes from the fourth season of Tim and Eric’s show circa 2009.
Tim Heidecker confirmed this obvious act of theft to SplitSider today, noting that Kellogg never reached out to him or Adult Swim. He wrote:
“Yea, no ok or compensation from us. A few fans alerted me. Ultimately it’s Adult Swim’s property so it’s up them whether to pursue. Pretty straightforward rip and I hope Turner’s legal department digs into this and helps protect our ‘intellectual’ property!”
Kellogg isn’t really getting away with this one, though. About half the comments on the Facebook post call them out for thievery.
It’s unclear at the moment which agency, if any, produced the spot. Publicis Groupe and Leo Burnett in particular have played lead on Kellogg brands for a while, but LB definitely didn’t make this one.
Side note: Facebook embeds are still the absolute worst.