Have you seen the new DirecTV ad campaign? The one that just launched a couple days ago, apparently. Features a bunch of empty suits representing Big Cable, sitting around a boardroom table and being dumb. Video of the ads here, here, and here.

To the extent that anything’s been written about it (and it’s a limited extent, judging by a-Googlin’), it’s been that mockumentarian Christopher Guest is directing the spots and that they feature some members of his comedic company of players. But I think the key point they’re missing is that these ads are attempting to evoke the glories of Arrested Development, the greatest television program of all time.

Think about it: Who are the lead actors in the commercials? Ed Begley, Jr. — a.k.a. Stan Sitwell, the Bluth family’s hairless corporate rival. And John Michael Higgins — a.k.a. Wayne Jarvis, the Bluth family attorney turned turncoat prosecutor. It’s the same humor, the same handheld camera work, the same boardroom scenes. Mitch Hurwitz should be getting royalties!

Despite the fact that approximately 17 people watched the show in its original run, this is not the first time a pop-culture entity has reached for a little Arrested flava. There was the Veronica Mars episode that featured guest appearances from George Michael (Michael Cera) and Maeby (Alia Shawkat). And, of course, Juno, which featured both Cera and his Arrested father, Michael (Jason Bateman).

All that — plus the fact that whenever I lend out my Arrested DVDs I have to fight to get them back — suggests the Arrested Development movie, whenever it may arise, may have more success at the box office than the series did on Fox.

28 March 2008

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