It’s all about his Glo-Balls now, but back in 1980, Hal Jordan was more of a Hostess Twinkies man. This classic ad, published in the year of the Winter Olympics, is chock full of wrongness and unintentional comedy gold. First of all, no one in the crowd notices Hal’s transformation, mere feet away, into the frickin’ Green Lantern? And while his power ring gets the job done, it’s an glaringly unspectacular display by GL Corps standards. No giant shovel, golf club or sledgehammer formation? Where’s the trademark Sector 2814 whimsy? The very best part, however, is the rescued bobsledders’ peculiar take on gratitude. Despite the fact that they could have, you know, died, the real tragedy would have been losing all their Twinkies— which were inexplicably stashed inside the bobsled. “Horrible thought. Missing all this Light, Golden Sponge Cake!” If you ask me, there’s something else lurking in that “delicious creamed filling.”
You may make fun now but the Hostess Twinkie may turn out to be the hero at the end of Brightest Day. :)
On a side note, can one of you ladies send me an email explaining how you got snow flurries on your site? Living in Florida, that may be the only way I will see snow this year and I would love to be able to add something like that to my site.
Thanks.
By the way, I love WTF? Wednesday. Keep up the good work.
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Hi, Ed! V. can give you all the WordPress particulars on the snow flurries. I’m so glad you love this feature. It brings us great joy.
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I used to cringe at these adverts, I didn’t have a sense of humour about these things back then. It was demeaning to super-heroes, you see, and a vile betrayal, given that it was perpetrated by the very company that gave us those heroes. I was young…
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That is hilarious…. I always wondered why Hal from the early 80’s looked like he had a spare tire.
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I’m cringing at the gratuitous bum-crack shot in the last frame. I could have done without that image. The muscles through the spandex thing I get, but what purpose is served by the butt-crack bleed-through?
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I am so glad super hero advertising is gone from comics it funny and so bad and I do love it but really! Come on Hal just think to yourself ” What would Ryan Reynolds do?
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@Cderosby: I totally missed that, and now I can’t UN-see it!
@Dot: Have you seen those crazy Colgate ads in the DC comics? They’re not quite as bad … but close.
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Sorry E. I had to share my sick little Seinfeld moment with somebody. I can’t look at the panel now without my eyes being drawn to it.
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Yeah there funny and they give me that weird fuzzy nostigal feeling. But the fanboy in me wishes they would stay hidden the only ones I really liked were the got milk ads
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GOD I LOVE THESE! So ridiculous! There’s a website somewhere out there with all of them.
And the Colgate ads are quite bizarre. Their choices for DC moments to include are so random (like Maxima and Amazing Man II making out in “Extreme Justice”… wtf?)
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So true! Some of those ads were weird. Robin and Wonder Girl kissing (tearfully) while grieving Superboy’s death? Yeah, that’ll move some toothpaste!
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