Elementary school kids remember the roller coaster in Seaside Heights, NJ, that was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. A photo appears of the roller coaster partially submerged in the Atlantic Ocean and then youngsters appear on camera with their memories of the wild ride they loved.
One girl says the roller coaster was “as big as the Empire State Building.”
“A million feet high,” says a boy.
“You have to be 48 inches tall,” notes a boy of the height requirement to ride the coaster.
“My brother threw up once,” says another about the loops’ nauseating effect.
“I liked eating the cotton candy and then licking my fingers,” recollected another lad.
“I love the hotdogs,” related a boy.
The kids then explain that a hurricane took the coaster away.
“It drowned,” said a girl.
“I want it back,” wished a boy.
A message appear on screen which reads, “Hope can never be washed away.”
A lad then recommends, “If they do built a new roller coaster, it should have a lot of loops.”
A supered message reads, “We completely agree,” followed by the State Farm logo.
This PSA aired during the Concert for Sandy Relief.
Joe Pytka of PYTKA directed for DDB Chicago.
Is “Glicked” The New “Barbenheimer”? “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” Hit Theater Screens
"Barbenheimer" was a phenomenon impossible to manufacture. But, more than a year later, that hasn't stopped people from trying to make "Glicked" — or even "Babyratu" — happen.
The counterprogramming of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" in July 2023 hit a nerve culturally and had the receipts to back it up. Unlike so many things that begin as memes, it transcended its online beginnings. Instead of an either-or, the two movies ultimately complemented and boosted one another at the box office.
And ever since, moviegoers, marketers and meme makers have been trying to recreate that moment, searching the movie release schedule for odd mashups and sending candidates off into the social media void. Most attempts have fizzled (sorry, "Saw Patrol" ).
This weekend is perhaps the closest approximation yet as the Broadway musical adaptation "Wicked" opens Friday against the chest-thumping sword-and-sandals epic "Gladiator II." Two big studio releases (Universal and Paramount), with one-name titles, opposite tones and aesthetics and big blockbuster energy — it was already halfway there before the name game began: "Wickiator," "Wadiator," "Gladwick" and even the eyebrow raising "Gladicked" have all been suggested.
"'Glicked' rolls off the tongue a little bit more," actor Fred Hechinger said at the New York screening of "Gladiator II" this week. "I think we should all band around 'Glicked.' It gets too confusing if you have four or five different names for it."
As with "Barbenheimer," as reductive as it might seem, "Glicked" also has the male/female divide that make the fan art extra silly. One is pink and bright and awash in sparkles, tulle, Broadway bangers and brand tie-ins; The other is all sweat and sand, blood and bulging... Read More