The creation of Ernest P. Worrell, played by actor/comedian Jim Varney, was novel for an advertising-saturated age. The idea was that the character's creators -- John R. Cherry III, his business partner Jerry Carden, and Varney -- would farm out their pre-made mascot to whatever product or service that might want him, and Ernest would hawk their wares. He wasn't invented for any one particular business. He was invented to be a pitchman-for-hire, and the Ernest ads all followed a similar format, making the commercial spots low-budget and instantly universal. Ernest was hired by the Coca-Cola Company to sell Sprite, but would also appear in ads for local businesses like the Cerrito Auto Square. Ernest was very, very popular.
Eventually, the Ernest ads became so huge and ubiquitous that the character began to bleed over into feature films and TV shows. Ernest was a media personality writ large, living...
Eventually, the Ernest ads became so huge and ubiquitous that the character began to bleed over into feature films and TV shows. Ernest was a media personality writ large, living...
- 12/17/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
For this week's final Halloween movies list, I decided to turn hit up the real superstars: my co-workers here in the MTV Newsroom who keep this great ship moving every damn day. After the jump you'll find recommendations and reminiscences from around the office. If you're game for some heavy reading, make sure to check out the last write-up, detailing Joel Hanek's pick: "Ernest Scared Stupid." Oh yes, he went there.
As for myself (MTV Movies Blog editor Adam Rosenberg), it's a toss-up. To this day I still have occasional nightmares relating to "Candyman," the Bernard Rose-directed, Virginia Madsen-starring horror flick based on a tale by novelist Clive Barker. There's something uniquely terrifying about the Candyman's ability to attack at any time, day or night. When horror can touch you even in the relative safety of sunlight, that's something to fear.
The other one that still gets me,...
As for myself (MTV Movies Blog editor Adam Rosenberg), it's a toss-up. To this day I still have occasional nightmares relating to "Candyman," the Bernard Rose-directed, Virginia Madsen-starring horror flick based on a tale by novelist Clive Barker. There's something uniquely terrifying about the Candyman's ability to attack at any time, day or night. When horror can touch you even in the relative safety of sunlight, that's something to fear.
The other one that still gets me,...
- 10/30/2009
- by MTV Movies Team
- MTV Movies Blog
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