Ozzy Osbourne still somehow gets ad work

Ozzy Osbourne turns up in this new Samsung Propel campaign from Leo Burnett, and what a surprise: the big joke is that no one can understand him because he mumbles. It's like a flashback to 2002, when his reality show was popular—but then Ozzy probably has flashbacks that go back a lot further than that. So, he uses the phone's multicolored text messaging to make himself understood. It's tough to buy Ozzy texting. Even if his hands stopped shaking long enough, you know his spelling would be atrocious. Most important, the Oz Man is one of those pop-culture figures who doesn't need to speak a word, via digital technology or otherwise. There's no looking away when he's on screen, regardless of the anemic material, so I guess these spots succeed in spite of themselves. Here's Ozzy with Black Sabbath live on U.S. TV back in 1975, when he really had something to say.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

November 11, 2008 in Gianatasio, Leo Burnett, Samsung, Telecom | Permalink