November 30, 2016
“Are you gonna eat your tots?” The stars of “Napoleon Dynamite” have been reunited on screen … for a Cheesy Tots ad.
Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) and Efren Rameriz (Pedro) teamed up with Burger King for a commercial promoting their cheesy tater tots. The advertisement shows the lovable dorks in their trademark quirky attire offset by their grown-up beards.
This time around Burger King replaces their native high school setting with the fast food establishment. Just like in the film, Napoleon asks for Pedro’s tots and then proceeds to steal them all from his plate.
Burger King recruited Heder and Rameriz from the 2004 cult movie in an attempt to appeal to millennial audiences. This collaboration comes in the same week that H&M hired movie director Wes Anderson and actor Adrien Brody to shoot their Christmas commercial.
READ MORE: H&M, Wes Anderson and Adrien Brody Pull Our Holiday Heartstrings
Burger King’s approach was a lot more relevant; after all, who could forget that famous tater tots line? Yet the business strategy of profiting from indie film icons is almost identical.
Exploiting these beloved characters for revenue may seem wrong to some. Yet their return to the screen has caused a lot of positive social media buzz, with many fans hopeful for a sequel. (Even Jon Heder revealed to BBC it’s not out of the question.)
Think Napoleon will give his bully Randy some of his tots if that happens?
