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Ad Council says it ‘loved’ SNL skit starring Larry David that parodied org’s annual dinner

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By Minda Smiley, Reporter

November 6, 2017 | 3 min read

President and chief executive of the Ad Council Lisa Sherman said the organization “loved” the SNL skit that ran over the weekend that saw host Larry David play a pony-tailed ad exec receiving a lifetime achievement award at the 75-year-old nonprofit’s annual dinner.

Larry David

Larry David played an out of touch ad exec in an SNL skit over the weekend

“We loved it! What a fun tribute to the Ad Council, our work and one of the most inspiring events in our industry – the Annual Public Service Award Dinner. We can’t wait to celebrate how our real PSAs are making people laugh and changing the world at this year’s dinner on November 30th,” said Sherman. This year's dinner is taking place at the New York Hilton.

In the skit, the Ad Council kicks off the dinner by screening some of David's “earlier works” - which happen to be a string of 1980s PSA campaigns - to show how he got his start in the business. However, things begin to go awry when the audience is appalled by how shockingly out of date and offensive the ads are.

For example, an anti-smoking campaign ends with a voiceover stating, “If someone pressures you to smoke, just say ‘No Way, That’s Gay.’” David then attempts to make amends by telling the audience that it was a “different time” back then.

The skit was part of a lineup that caught some heat over the weekend, particularly because of David’s comments during his opening monologue. In his opening remarks, David said that he’s “always been obsessed with women” before launching into a joke about whether or not he would have hit on women at concentration camps during the Holocaust.

SNL Advertising Ad Council

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