Adult Swim
Despite only being on the air for three seasons, Rick and Morty has already achieved cult comedy status that few television shows — cartoon or otherwise — rarely achieve. With its mind-bending plot lines, mile-a-minute jokes, or gorgeously creative animation, Rick and Morty is just a step ahead of its competitors.
While the show’s third season was both overly delayed and supremely hyped, it surpassed expectations by miles as it was far and away the strongest season yet, meaning that Rick and Morty and its creators now have officially achieved the clout where they can essentially get away with anyway. You know how The Simpsons and South Park guys can make any joke they want, and even the unfunny ones are lauded by fans — that’s the space that Rick and Morty now lives in.
And what that ultimately means is that, unfortunately, advertisers can start selling us stuff using the Rick and Morty brand because they know fans will tune in, which is exactly whats happening here. Dammit.
via Uproxx:
In the commercial set in the Rick and Morty-verse, Rick takes a cash payment from Old Spice to introduce Morty to some Old Spice mascots at 3 a.m., but these aren’t typical mascots. They’re anthropomorphic spray bottles capable of stealing, wrecking things, and eating. Specifically, the mascot known as “Swagger” feeds upon a beloved side character who has seemingly met its surreal, cologne-scented demise.
That’s the butter-passing robot from one of our favorite episodes, “Something Ricked This Way Comes”, in which Rick makes a robot that can question its own existence and has a crisis when it realizes its only purpose is to hand Rick the butter dish at the dinner table. Perhaps it’s for the best that its bleak journey has swaggered past the finish line. Welcome to the afterlife, pal.
The ad itself is a reference to a scene from “M. Night Shaym-Aliens!”, which was also referenced in a sponsored clip from 2015 when Rick similarly barged into Morty’s room at night to introduce him to anthropomorphic Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s hamburger mascots.
Hopefully, there’s another universe where another version of myself chose not to play right into Old Spice’s marketing ploy. But not this universe.
