- John Oliver did a segment on local car commercials that looked similar
- He offered a free script to one car dealership to use in a commercial
- Zombrota Ford in Minnesota accepted the offer
- The ad they created was a tense domestic drama about a troubled marriage
- John Oliver praised their interpretation of the script and the little touches they added
- He thanked Zombrota Ford for their participation

John Oliver reveals the brave local car dealership that agreed to produce Last Week Tonight’s commercial script, sight unseen.

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It's me, John Oliver, the big bird boy that goes chirper to yak.

We are off this week, but we wanted to give you a quick update because you may remember a few months ago, we did a story about local car commercials.

Specifically, the fact that it had come to our attention that some of them looked suspiciously similar.

me, Scott Elder here from Elder Mitsubishi.

My doctor told me to turn it down a notch before my heart explodes!

Scott Lehman here from Premier Auto Center, and I'm in a pickle!

My doctor told me to calm down before my heart explodes!

Hey, Fred Brody here from Brody Automotive.

Doctor told me I need to turn it down a notch before my heart explodes!

turn it down a notch so my heart doesn't explode.

My doctor told me to turn it down a notch so my heart doesn't explode.

But, Dad, your doctor told you to calm down before your heart explodes.

And they made that look easy, which is impressive, because, if I may quote my favorite pig fucker, it's not easy being green.

You know, I believe it was Sandy Meisner that said, acting is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances.

And the beauty here is, I truly believed every 1 of those men was a pickle with a fatal heart condition that could strike at the drop of a scream.

But the fact that these scripts seem to be recycled really bothered me.

I'm not gonna recap our whole story right now, but it turns out there was 1 company writing scripts for a whole bunch of dealerships, which seemed like a real shame, because at their best, local car ads should be unique and completely unhinged, not franchised out, making nothing special anymore.

And that is why we ended our segment with what we felt was a tantalizing offer.

And we're offering it to 1, and only 1, car dealership to use in a commercial for free, so long as they agree to some simple terms.

The main 1 being, you have to agree to produce this exactly as it is written, and you can't read it before you agree.

And I would argue that that was a hell of an offer on our part, and to be honest, quite a risk for someone to take on.

Do you really think we can be trusted with a situation like that?

And yet, thankfully, multiple dealerships did end up contacting us, and we eventually chose 1, Zombrota Ford, in Zombrota, Minnesota.

And while you or they might well have expected our script to force them to do something big, wild, and cartoonish, like, I don't know, dressing as a giant baby and making them slap their baby butts while their customers go goo-goo ga-ga for savings, I don't know, We actually went a different way.

The ad that we wrote was a tense, domestic, psycho drama that, yes, was incidentally about their car dealership, but it was mainly about a marriage in serious trouble.

The first lines in our script were an individual staring out of a window and saying, -"Storm's coming any minute now."

ANY MINUTE NOW $TOMORROW'S COMING ANY MINUTE NOW And their spouse responding, -"I want a divorce." That is how it began.

So we were fascinated to see how they handled our unflinching exploration of domestic collapse.

And to their eternal credit, they threw themselves at the source material.

So tonight, I am proud to unveil the ad that will be airing in the Zombrota area this week.

An ad that no other dealership in America will have.

So sit back, grab a tissue, and please...

Like, you wouldn't even know what I mean.

And ever since we bought that all-wheel drive minivan from Zombrota Ford, you've changed.

Maybe I changed the minute I put my hands on the steering wheel of that new minivan.

Maybe in that moment, I realized how empty I feel inside.

You don't want the minivan from Zombrota Ford.

Ugh, here we go again with the kid thing.

And you take up too much space, like our Zombrota Ford minivan that can barely fit in the garage.

I wrote the dimensions down right, but the architect made the garage wrong.

It's always the architect with you, isn't it Kevin?

and I'm in a pickle couples therapy shmupples therapy a new car is what you want So come on down to some bro to Ford and see me Steve Johnson.

I'm a dealer for the people -♪ I'm a dealer for the people -♪ I'm a dealer for the people

All due respect to Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain, but that is a fucking scene from a marriage right there.

To me, it's all the little touches that we didn't specify in the script, but which they did anyway.

The choice to show a fairly clear sky right before the line, -"Storm's coming any minute now." Great.

The cutaway to the big minivan in the small garage.

The couples therapy, schmupples therapy graphics engulfed by what appear to be dozens of green coronaviruses.

And finally, the husband from the ad walking into the dealership and away from the wreckage of his relationship at the end of the commercial?

That is narrative closure, motherfuckers!

Look, my congratulations and heartfelt thanks to the people of Zombrota Ford.

We put you in a pickle, and you did something that truly made me feel like my heart was about to explode.


Speaker 0: -♪ ♪ -♪ ♪ Hello there, Internet. It's me, John Oliver, the big bird boy that goes chirper to yak. We are off this week, but we wanted to give you a quick update because you may remember a few months ago, we did a story about local car commercials. Specifically, the fact that it had come to our attention that some of them looked suspiciously similar. Hey, you know

Speaker 1: me, Scott Elder here from Elder Mitsubishi. I'm in a pickle. My doctor told me to turn it down a notch before my heart explodes!

Speaker 2: Scott Lehman here from Premier Auto Center, and I'm in a pickle! My doctor told me to calm down before my heart explodes! Hey, Fred Brody here from Brody Automotive.

Speaker 3: Doctor told me I need to turn it down a notch before my heart explodes! Scott Lehman here from Premier Auto Center, and I'm in a pickle! My doctor told me

Speaker 2: to calm down before my heart explodes! Hey, Fred Grody

Speaker 3: here from Grody Automotive. Doctor told me I need to

Speaker 1: turn it down a notch so my heart doesn't explode.

Speaker 4: Steve Johnson here from Zombro to Ford. My doctor told me to turn it down a notch so my heart doesn't explode.

Speaker 0: Help! I'm in a pickle!

Speaker 3: But, Dad, your doctor told you to calm down before your heart explodes.

Speaker 0: I mean, excellent, right? Every single pickle a star. And they made that look easy, which is impressive, because, if I may quote my favorite pig fucker, it's not easy being green. You know, I believe it was Sandy Meisner that said, acting is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances. And the beauty here is, I truly believed every 1 of those men was a pickle with a fatal heart condition that could strike at the drop of a scream.

But the fact that these scripts seem to be recycled really bothered me. I'm not gonna recap our whole story right now, but it turns out there was 1 company writing scripts for a whole bunch of dealerships, which seemed like a real shame, because at their best, local car ads should be unique and completely unhinged, not franchised out, making nothing special anymore. And that is why we ended our segment with what we felt was a tantalizing offer. We've written a script, and it's good. It's really good.

And we're offering it to 1, and only 1, car dealership to use in a commercial for free, so long as they agree to some simple terms. The main 1 being, you have to agree to produce this exactly as it is written, and you can't read it before you agree. Yeah. Yeah. We did do that.

And I would argue that that was a hell of an offer on our part, and to be honest, quite a risk for someone to take on. Do you really think we can be trusted with a situation like that? Because I definitely don't. And yet, thankfully, multiple dealerships did end up contacting us, and we eventually chose 1, Zombrota Ford, in Zombrota, Minnesota. And while you or they might well have expected our script to force them to do something big, wild, and cartoonish, like, I don't know, dressing as a giant baby and making them slap their baby butts while their customers go goo-goo ga-ga for savings, I don't know, We actually went a different way.

The ad that we wrote was a tense, domestic, psycho drama that, yes, was incidentally about their car dealership, but it was mainly about a marriage in serious trouble. The first lines in our script were an individual staring out of a window and saying, -"Storm's coming any minute now."

Speaker 2: -$TOMORROW'S COMING

Speaker 0: ANY MINUTE NOW $TOMORROW'S COMING ANY MINUTE NOW And their spouse responding, -"I want a divorce." That is how it began. -$I WANT

Speaker 2: A DIVORCE

Speaker 5: $I WANT A DIVORCE

Speaker 0: So we were fascinated to see how they handled our unflinching exploration of domestic collapse. And to their eternal credit, they threw themselves at the source material. So tonight, I am proud to unveil the ad that will be airing in the Zombrota area this week. An ad that no other dealership in America will have. So sit back, grab a tissue, and please...

Enjoy. -♪♪

Speaker 1: Storm's coming any minute now.

Speaker 0: -♪♪

Speaker 3: I want a divorce.

Speaker 0: -♪♪

Speaker 1: You don't mean that.

Speaker 3: Like, you wouldn't even know what I mean. You don't know me.

Speaker 1: You're right. I don't anymore. And ever since we bought that all-wheel drive minivan from Zombrota Ford, you've changed.

Speaker 3: Maybe I have. Maybe I changed the minute I put my hands on the steering wheel of that new minivan. Maybe in that moment, I realized how empty I feel inside.

Speaker 1: You don't want the minivan from Zombrota Ford.

Speaker 3: Of course not. Why would I? We don't even have kids.

Speaker 1: Ugh, here we go again with the kid thing. What happened to us? We used to laugh. We used to dance. Remember the lodge?

Speaker 3: Don't you dare bring up the lodge. You're impossible. And you take up too much space, like our Zombrota Ford minivan that can barely fit in the garage.

Speaker 1: How many times do I have to say it? I wrote the dimensions down right, but the architect made the garage wrong.

Speaker 3: It's always the architect with you, isn't it Kevin?

Speaker 2: I'm Steve Johnson of some bro to Ford

Speaker 5: and I'm in a pickle couples therapy shmupples therapy a new car is what you want So come on down to some bro to Ford and see me Steve Johnson. I'm a dealer for the people -♪ I'm a dealer for the people -♪ I'm a dealer for the people

Speaker 0: I mean, come on. That is A+. All due respect to Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain, but that is a fucking scene from a marriage right there. To me, it's all the little touches that we didn't specify in the script, but which they did anyway. The choice to show a fairly clear sky right before the line, -"Storm's coming any minute now." Great.

Excellent. -$30,000. The cutaway to the big minivan in the small garage. Very, very good. The couples therapy, schmupples therapy graphics engulfed by what appear to be dozens of green coronaviruses.

Genius. And very topical. And finally, the husband from the ad walking into the dealership and away from the wreckage of his relationship at the end of the commercial? That is narrative closure, motherfuckers! That's how you do it!

Tie up the ends! Look, my congratulations and heartfelt thanks to the people of Zombrota Ford. We put you in a pickle, and you did something that truly made me feel like my heart was about to explode. Thank

Speaker 5: you

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Local Car Commercials Update: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Web Exclusive)