Billy Eichner Says Burger King Stole His Act
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on October 13th, 2014 11:08 pm by HL
Billy Eichner Says Burger King Stole His Act
THIEVES! Or, you know, not.
The post Billy Eichner Says Burger King Stole His Act appeared first on ThinkProgress.
CREDIT: Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP
Another day, another accusation of theft in the comedy community: this time, Billy Eichner versus Burger King.
Eichner’s signature “Billy on the Street” move entails him running up to a bunch of pedestrians, usually with a celebrity in tow, and screaming questions in their faces. If you are into this sort of thing (I am!) it is very funny; if you’re not, it’s kind of just very loud. Key elements of the bit: high volume, semi-uncomfortable questions, the involvement of famous guests.
Last night, Eichner tweeted…
Hey @BurgerKing-thanks for stealing my act for ur new commercial!! Except its not as funny & everyone knows u stole it. GET YOUR OWN IDEAS.
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 13, 2014
…in reference to this Burger King commercial:
Joke theft is a serious crime of creativity; in an industry where the only currency that can never be devalued is ideas, to steal someone’s original work and pass it off as your own is as bad as busting open their bank account. It’s a problem as old as professional comedy, and probably even older. But is that really what this is?
The guy in the Burger King commercial has a passing resemblance to Eichner, in that, they are both white guys with dark hair. But I wouldn’t even describe his voice as “yelling,” let alone the emphatic shout-scream for which Eichner is famous. He sounds more like a game show host describing what prize is behind door number three. There’s no celebrity on his arm. While Eichner runs between passersby and accosts them as they’re walking to the subway or whatever, the Burger King spokesman is just doing an interview with kids who are already there, who appear to have met him outside for the express purpose of being interviewed. Is it likely that someone at the ad agency, or at Burger King, saw and liked Eichner’s comedy and was inspired by it for this commercial? Sure, but that’s hardly a cause for outrage. The ad doesn’t look ripped off. If Eichner had not made this comparison himself, I’m not entirely sure anybody else would have sounded the alarm.
Eichner’s sketches are vulgar and strange — “I hope you’ve got your condom on, because it’s time for the lightning round!” — and his tone is frazzled, frantic, manic. None of that energy is present in the static Burger King commercial.
The Burger King ad and Eichner’s sketch look alike the way any normal person “looks like” a celebrity: in the just-right lighting, if you squint, if you’re generous, and also, nope, not really, not at all.
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