Ahead of Sunday’s 50th anniversary celebration for “Saturday Night Live,” one of its biggest stars is experiencing some viral fame with a new Super Bowl commercial for Yahoo.
Bill Murray, who launched his career on the legendary sketch comedy series in 1977, appeared on Sunday in a 15-second spot for the web service company’s first Big Game ad in more than two decades.
Yahoo
In the ad, Murray gave his email address as Billhimself@yahoo.com. (Yahoo)
The Emmy Award winner looks in the mirror in the commercial only to see a dog mocking his movements instead of his own reflection.
“Have you ever looked in the mirror and not seen yourself?” he asks.
“I don’t think I need professional help, but a skilled amateur…maybe? Little help?,” he says as he holds up a yellow legal pad with an email address — Billhimself@yahoo.com — in hopes someone will email him a solution.
People who actually email the address go down a digital rabbit hole of automated responses from Murray.
In part of the first email reply, the “Groundhog Day” star appears in a selfie video sitting in an emergency room wearing a hospital gown because he had an elevated heart rate. He explains that he ended up at a veterinarian because he thinks insurance will pay for it.
But it doesn’t.
Murray, 74, then says the vet has referred him somewhere else and asks readers to guess where.
The suspense ensues.
When people respond to that email, a second reply appears in a new thread with a new video of him going to a pet psychic.
Co-written by Murray in collaboration with his brother, Brian Doyle-Murray, and frequent collaborator Mitch Glazer, the commercial is the “tip of the iceberg” according to Yahoo CCO/interim lead of marketing Sona Iliffe-Moon.
“Everyone watches the game with their phone in their hand, so we’re making a big play for the ‘second screen,’ and in this case we’re giving people ways to engage with Yahoo throughout the evening — Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Sports and more,” the veteran executive told Variety. “We hope viewers will spend some of their game night discovering Yahoo in a whole new way.”
