Photorealist art accompaniesNBC LCS ad

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on May 12th, 2008

We’re unclear on the aim of NBC’s ad blitz which touts their “All-American Summer” and co-promotes LCS along with American Gladiator, Celebrity Circus and Nashville Star and other reality/competition shows.

We’re especially mystified by the two-page ad in last week’s Us Weekly (See the right half of the ad above), which depicts host Bill Bellamy ankle-deep in an inflatable wading pool while sneering children look on disapprovingly. We’re unnerved by the fact that Bellamy seems more interested in entertaining the array of lawn gnomes and pink flamingos.

In the left half of the spread, is depicted a clown holding a bunch of balloons, a fat kid on a seesaw with a girl wearing a bikini and a line of comedic hopefuls which stretches on seemingly to infinity.

So many questions! Who is the Kevin Smith-looking dude checking his watch? What’s with attitude? Everyone seems to be impatient– folded arms, hans on the hips, watch-checking– one doesn’t need a degree in Body Language Analysis to know that Bellamy is the object of much ire and annoyance. Are the kids pissy because Bellamy is cutting into their wading time? Or do they just hate comedians? Or do they just despise Bellamy? The whole scene is painted in a photorealism style, but it has an eerie, surreal quality to it.

And lawn gnomes? Aren’t we about a decade past the peak of lawn gnomes being shorthand for “We’re so clever, so above it all?” (And maybe two decades over our obsession with the flamingos.) We understand the banana peel icon… sorta.

The whole thing is odd. We’re not sure what message it is sending to Us Weekly readers. We look forward to the premiere on May 22. Mark your calendars. And, if you just can’t wait, you can hop onto LCS’s official site and check out the videos– “Can Miss USA and Miss Universe impress the scouts at Last Comic Standing?” is the tease for one of the vids. We sense danger.

While away the hours by reading “Where are they now?” interviews with Dat Phan and Jay London. Meet Fearne Cotton! And get to know the celebrity judges! We note that NBC has mis-identified celeb talent scout Richard Kind as “Richard King!” That’s gotta sting!

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