Ryan Reynolds debuts Hims erectile dysfunction ad that’s ‘not about Rob McElhenney’
In his latest stunt, the Hollywood star chaffs his Wrexham AFC co-owner Rob McElhenney by implying – via a Hims ad – that McElhenney might face some issues in the bedroom.
In a cheeky stunt Tuesday night on Jimmy Kimmel, actor and adland darling Ryan Reynolds aired a new ad for Hims – the telehealth platform that specializes in treating men’s hair loss and erectile dysfunction. Reynolds took the opportunity to poke a little lighthearted fun at his friend – and Wrexham AFC co-owner – actor Rob McElhenney, who was catching up with Reynolds on the show ahead of the Welcome to Wrexham documentary premiere.
During the interview, Reynolds opens up about some of his recent escapades in marketing – touching on recent work he’s made with his mother, with American actor Christopher Meloni and even with McElhenney’s own wife, Kaitlin Olson, who Reynolds describes as “a comedic sniper.”
Reynolds then asks Kimmel’s producers to air the ad for McElhenney and viewers to see. Sure enough, there is Olson – starring alongside an actor that looks suspiciously similar to McElhenney – promoting Hims’ telehealth services and direct-to-consumer (DTC) drugs for erectile dysfunction. In the spot, Olson is pictured helping the McElhenney doppelganger align his shot at the billiards table, spinning him under her arm in a slow dance and even feeding him by hand as he relaxes in a bubble bath.
When the spot concludes, Kimmel viewers see Reynolds and McElhenney back in the studio, both silent as McElhenney tries to process what he’s just seen. A live audience hoots with laughter in the background.
In an attempt to console McElhenney, Reynolds explains that erectile dysfunction is “quite common for men over 40 – it’s sort of like a flu, but in your pants” and even mentions that the initial concept involved The Mandalorian’s Baby Yoda instead of a male actor.
The ad, rendered in Reynolds’s signature comedic style, was concepted and created by the actor’s own agency Maximum Effort, which last summer was acquired by CTV player MNTN.