(Jimmy the cab driver, circa 1993)
When I first saw Rainn Wilson’s new NBA commercials, with him as a crazy cab driver transporting different NBA players (Dwight Howard, Gilbert Arenas, etc.), I thought they were hilarious. Then I realized they reminded me of a similar ad campaign from the 90’s… which I automatically assumed was from the NBA, and they had just re-worked it.
WRONG.
Thanks to The Google, my memory became more accurate. The ads I was thinking of weren’t from the NBA, they were from MTV. The character of ‘Jimmy the cab driver’ was a household name and commercial in the 1990’s, played by actor Donal Logue. Classic commercials that everyone born before ‘84 should remember.
So, you tell me….. is this a blatant rip-off, or a clever homage to a childhood hero, Jimmy the cab driver?
Original MTV ad:
NBA’s current ad:
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