Yesterday I posted the baffling Hermain Cain ad that featured chief of staff Mark Block taking a drag from a cigarette and Cain breaking into a slow, creepy smile. It was obviously ripe for parody, and late-night hosts went after it with gusto. Conan O’Brien, David Letterman, and Stephen Colbert all created similar spoofs of the commercial. (I’m sure Jay Leno will tackle it some time early next year.)
Not only have I embedded the videos below, but I’ve also ranked them because I enjoy stirring up pointless discussion. For further reading on this matter, please see my defining work in the genre, EMILY > ZOOEY.
THIRD PLACE: Letterman
https://www.cbs.com/e/nqoygN_cL33fyoTGNnyuEf1OKD4GBaUp/cbs/1/
SECOND PLACE: Conan
FIRST PLACE: Colbert
https://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:video:colbertnation.com:400682
The slow smile competition at the end seals it. If you don’t want to watch the entire video, at least watch the final minute so you can see Colbert’s smile more slowly than Cain.
