The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum / A TV First? Classic Sitcom Family Returns In Series Of Bizarre TV Ads

**Posted by RadioActive** October 6, 2024 7:18 am

The classic ABC sitcom "Modern Family" left the air four years ago after a long run and multiple Emmy wins for Best Comedy. Outside of reruns, that should have been the end of it. But it turns out, some of the actors who starred in that show are back in character for a series of ads for Meta's "What's App."

The kids from the show aren't in it, but Phil (Ty Burrell), Claire (Julie Bowen), Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) all appear as their old Modern Family characters.

Is this a first? There have been a number of series revivals - Murphy Brown and Frasier come to mind - but I can't quite recall a campaign that brought back the stars of an old TV show playing the same roles in a TV spot. Has any campaign in the past ever done this before?

I have to admit it worked on me - most of the time I usually do anything to avoid TV spots, but this campaign had me stopping the fast forwarding on my DVR to actually watch all 30 secs. of each one. That doesn't happen very often.

You can see them below.

**Posted by RadioActive** October 6, 2024 5:26 pm

It's not quite the same thing, but I just recalled at least one instance where an old character or two was resurrected for a TV commercial. And it took the genius of Stan Freberg to do it.

**Posted by DX** October 6, 2024 9:33 pm

Lest we forget the 2022 Super Bowl commercial Next Generation for the Chevrolet Silverado EV featuring the Sopranos characters Meadow Soprano (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) and A.J. Soprano (Robert Iler) in modern day. Sopranos creator David Chase and director of photography Phil Abraham took part in the production. In canon, it means that whatever happened, or didn't happen, at Holsten's 15 years before in the Sopranos finale episode Made In America, Meadow and A.J. at least survived to live on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGb08fEVaOA

Last edited by DX (October 6, 2024 9:33 pm)

**Posted by mace** October 7, 2024 8:34 am

RadioActive wrote:
The classic ABC sitcom "Modern Family" left the air four years ago after a long run and multiple Emmy wins for Best Comedy. Outside of reruns, that should have been the end of it. But it turns out, some of the actors who starred in that show are back in character for a series of ads for Meta's "What's App."

The kids from the show aren't in it, but Phil (Ty Burrell), Claire (Julie Bowen), Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) all appear as their old Modern Family characters.

Is this a first? There have been a number of series revivals - Murphy Brown and Frasier come to mind - but I can't quite recall a campaign that brought back the stars of an old TV show playing the same roles in a TV spot. Has any campaign in the past ever done this before?

I have to admit it worked on me - most of the time I usually do anything to avoid TV spots, but this campaign had me stopping the fast forwarding on my DVR to actually watch all 30 secs. of each one. That doesn't happen very often.

You can see them below.

I have seen the second ad, but having never watched Modern Family, It didn't do anything for me.

**Posted by RadioActive** October 7, 2024 8:43 am

What's most amazing about the campaign is how closely it hews to the original in terms of characterizations and writing, which you wouldn't know if you never watched the series. Whoever authored it, brief though it is, really captured the cadence of Modern Family in those short 30 sec. ads.