Last night, I was scrolling my DVR through the leftovers before the delayed episode of The Simpsons on Fox (no simsub for an antenna user!) when I stopped short to watch an ad - something I rarely do. 

It was for a guy who vaguely resembled a grown-up version of Billy Mumy, who played "Will Robinson" on the old Lost In Space. Except this wasn't fiction, although at first I thought it was. 

It was a full network ad on Fox for a guy named Brock Pierce, who, in case you didn't know - and I'm certain you didn't - is running for president of the United States. 

Brock who? At first, I thought it was a joke from the Simpsons producers, but no, I went to his website and there was his platform. The first priority on his list seemed to be about making cannabis legal and dropping all drug charges against people. (Hey, he could actually win in this country!) 

He's clearly the fringiest of fringe candidates, but I was astounded that he attracted enough money to fund not only one commercial on a major American network, but two (a second one aired later in the episode.) And maybe more that I don't know about.

I've heard of strange people entering the political field. But I can't recall ever seeing one of them with absolutely no shot at winning pony up enough bucks to get a breath of primetime air, which can't be cheap. Not even Kanye West managed to do that!

Did anyone else see this bizarre moment of TV in what's already been a very strange campaign?

Brock Pierce's website

    

Edit: According to Wikipedia, he was an actor in two Mighty Ducks movies, along with other bit parts, and made his fortune, such as it is, in cryptocurrency. Which may explain how he paid for the ads. But outside of an ego stroke, what a waste of money!  

Last edited by RadioActive (November 2, 2020 2:38 pm)