There is only so much remembrance you can squeeze into a 30-second advertisement, but adding a postscript with a simple message of “Thank You, Carl” is a very nice touch. Unfortunately, watching this commercial on YouTube obscures this message with all of the platform’s irritating “watch next” prompts as the video concludes. The prompt does, in fact, block out the “1948-2024” markers designed to let you know why FanDuel would be thanking Carl Weathers in the first place.
Format issues aside, the ad itself is a nice nod to Weathers’ penchant for poking fun at his own sports history in his theatrical roles. This was the case when Weathers famously played himself in “Arrested Development” — not to mention his finest role of “Chubbs” Peterson in “Happy Gilmore.” While it would be nice if his final work on screen was something like “The Mandalorian” and not a gambling advertisement, it is a reminder of how effective his screen presence could be even with such little time and material to work with.
With less than two weeks to pivot the campaign in light of Weathers’ death, FanDuel did the best it could in respecting Carl Weathers’ memory.
