Phil Rizzuto's Death Takes Fans Down Advertising Memory Lane

Aug. 16, 2007 -- When the beloved Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto died Monday, fans remembered the man in their own special way: by recalling his best plays as a Yankee, or perhaps his memorable "Holy Cow!" calls from the booth.

And of course, some turned to his ignominiously bad and nostalgia-inducing Money Store commercials the Scooter starred in during the 1980s.

"Holy Cow! Are you as confused as I am about these new tax laws?" he bellows, seated in front of a lime-green background, wearing large thick-rimmed glasses, and occupying a desk with a "Phil Rizzuto" nameplate on it.

And then, emitting a decidedly fake "Aghhhh" groan a B-rate actor wouldn't be caught dead saying on-screen, Rizzuto shoves two stacks of tax papers off the desk.

"There are so many levels of bad in this commercial -- but this is kind of so bad that it works very well," said Mike Lear, a vice president and associate creative director at Martin Advertising.

The Yankee Hall of Famer is not alone in the celebrity advertisement Hall of Shame. And yet all these spots tend to bring a smile to our faces.

Who can watch without wincing — and laughing — as Fabio swings from tree to tree, is handed a piece of bread and butter from his Jane and quips: "I can't believe it's not butter"?

What about watching Mickey Rooney on a faux safari unsuccessfully trying to capture a life-size bottle of Rainier Beer with legs on it?

Or Lauren Bacall shilling for High Point coffee? "It's decaffeinated, and the flavor is marrrvelous," the Academy Award-nominee coos in the spot.

There is something about these terrible celebrity ads that occupy the depths of YouTube and Japanese television, with their cocktail of a low budget and a celebrity seeking cash or exposure, that invariably strikes our fancy.

"They're like train wrecks. It's hard not to pay attention to them," said Allen Henderson, the editor of Awfulcommercials.com. "It's a play on expectations where you expect things to be better than they are."