The ads of Robert De Niro: an Oscar winner plays versions of himself
Robert De Niro has been turning up in a few ads recently, with the last two for the UK and European markets, for Warburtons and Kia, respectively.
Robert De Niro in a Warburtons ad
De Niro is more known for playing the tough guy on screen, and the American Oscar winner has done plenty of ads where he’s either playing himself or a caricature of one of his on-screen toughies.
Even though he hasn't done a ton of ads over the decades, The Drum looks back at some of DeNiro’s more memorable turns as a product pitcher.
Kia Niro
With the name of its hybrid and electric line of cars essentially suited to the actor’s name, he seemed a natural to promote the vehicles. The lead creative shows the actor believing he is being cast as ‘a trendy version of De Niro’ when in fact he’s supposed to be promoting the trendy new Niro. The mistaken identity finds him dressed like a hipster lumberjack. More ads in the series let him be a truer version of himself as he dresses in a suit and tries out the features on the vehicles.
Warburtons
In a genius bit of casting and writing, De Niro delivers a Goodfellas-worthy performance as a mashup between his mob boss characters and himself trying to take an organized crime approach to becoming the bagel king of Bolton. The ‘Goodbagels’ sendup is perfect for the actor who doesn’t take himself too seriously but comes off convincingly thuggish.
Melco-Crown Entertainment
De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio teamed in a short for Melco-Crown Entertainment’s Hollywood-style holiday resort and casino in Macau.
The film, entitled ‘The Audition’ was set in the resort city and boasted the directorial prowess of veteran movie-maker Martin Scorsese, as the first in a series of designed to promote the launch of the casino chain, owned by billionaire Lawrence Ho.
The premise is that DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, playing themselves, are “vying” for the same role as a 'wiseguy' casino owner however in a twist of fate, the role is instead offered to Brad Pitt. The series, developed by RatPac Entertainment and written by Terence Winter, was reported to have cost $70m.
Santander
This amusing spot by the financial institution was part of rebranding campaign in 2013. In it, Santander offers to send its Extra 20 checking account customers to a premiere with De Niro. But it turns out the actor is the last person you’d want to go with. He’s seen sitting with a man and commenting on everything that’s wrong, to hilarious effect.
AMC Ambassador
De Niro is a young man in this 1970 commercial for a car and automaker that doesn’t exist anymore. He’s seen pulling up in the car to a New York City market, where his parents come out to see the new vehicle. The parents are amazed he can afford such a ‘fancy’ car, when the spot is really selling how affordable the pseudo-luxury vehicle really is.
American Express
De Niro seems most himself in this spot that’s essentially a love letter to his home city – New York. In the spot, he states all the reasons he adores New York: “My oldest friend, my first love…my westside, my private side…my heartbeat.” It shows the various neighborhoods of New York, then settles in Tribeca, where the ad becomes a promo for American Express and the Tribeca Film Festival, which he helped start.
#VoteYourFuture
There is no love lost between De Niro and fellow New Yorker Donald Trump. In this campaign spot for #VoteYourFuture by Anonymous Content – which featured plenty of celebrities talking about what they care about for the election – De Niro went off script and gave a full-on rant against Republican then presidential nominee Trump. In it, he called him a “punk,” a “con” and a “bullshit artist.”
De Niro’s spot was deemed too partisan and didn’t make the final cut.