How Rhett & Link’s offbeat humor helps ‘Local Commercials’ go viral
Small businesses may be the butt of the joke, but they love the campaign’s reach and the traffic it drives.
At first glance it looks like your typical small-market TV commercial: a catchy jingle, exterior shots of a pharmacy, and testimonials from customers.
But it’s the business name—Butt Drugs—that tips you off that you’re in the presence of inspired comedy: that of North Carolina duo Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal, a.k.a. Rhett & Link.
The pitch for Butt Drugs—real pharmacy in Corydon, Ind.—is one of many the two have produced as a part of their “I Love Local Commercials” series. Funded by a company that sells business services, they have cranked out Web-based ads for a plastic surgeon, tattoo parlor and a repo man, among others.
The campaign, funded by MicroBilt Corp., may be one of the most offbeat in recent years. Rather than promote its array of services, the campaign plugs local businesses—MicroBilt clients as well as others nominated by the public—with only a brief mention of MicroBilt at the end.
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