We're seeing dead people.And that has some of us up in arms over a DirecTV ad that's running on television right now.You might have seen it. It's one of those commercials where they take a classic movie scene and use one of the original stars to promote the TV service. Previous ads have featured Sigourney Weaver in a classic Aliens scene and Robert Patrick as the T-1000 from the Terminator 2 helicopter scene.In this case, it's Poltergeist. Craig T. Nelson, who played the dad in the 1982 movie, is real and alive in the ad. But Heather O'Rourke, who is seen reciting the movie's memorable line, "Theeeyyyy'rre heeerrre" is deceased. She died in 1988 at age 12 of septic shock while undergoing an operation to remove a bowel obstruction.And that, some blog posters and their readers say, is why this ad really creeps them out."Glad I'm not the only one who was a bit taken aback by this ad. I don't begrudge Nelson the dough but couldn't they have figured out a way to not use the dead little girl?" wrote Dan Taylor on Slashfilm.com.Tiffany on EW's PopWatch blog said: "I had kind of an unsettled feeling when I first saw this, too. Couldn't they find another memorable Craig T. Nelson movie to re-make for the commercial? Oh, I guess not. But really, a dead child should be off limits when shilling something she didn't live long enough to see or experience."And on AdFreak.com, Jim wrote: "I found it inappropriate. ... It's one thing if the actor in question died of natural causes as an adult, but if you're aware of Heather O'Rourke's tragedy, it overwhelms the message. Will Dominique Dunne be in the next spot?" She's the young actor strangled by her former boyfriend right before Poltergeist was released.Given the reaction out on the Web, seems as if the DirecTV folks would have been better off not disturbing the ghosts on this one.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service www.scrippsnews.com)
What?
John Wayne is dead and they have used him in commercials. There is a commercial out there right now with Elvis Presley driving a car with Dolly Parton. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this.
she's a child...that's the
she's a child...that's the difference.
People just like to make a
People just like to make a big deal about nothing. People who are complaining about this obviously don't have any problems to speak of. There is nothing wrong with the ad at all.
yeah, I've got a problem. A
yeah, I've got a problem. A problem with the ad Direct TV is running and the fact that Craig Nelson would even participate in such an ad. It's the whole Poltergeist movie theme and all that - it was creepy when she said that line in the movie and the fact that she died tragically makes it even more so. Direct TV should find other ways to sell their product. How about using some people that are alive???
Heather O'Rourke
I agree. I was shocked when I first saw this. The age of the child when she died and the fact that she only had one or two roles in her brief life add to the tastelessness of this decision. I'm surprised Craig T. Nelson agreed to do this.
Innocence and Exploitation
Shame on Craig T. Nelson. Dude needs the money that bad? No class. What's the difference between Elvis, John Wayne, and Heather O'Rourke?....Oh I don't know....What's the difference between 20 year old strippers and exploited children? This is the mindlessness of our present day America. Greed is God!
While it was a little bit
While it was a little bit unnerving to see Heather O'Rourke in the ad, I'm assuming that DirectTV got her parents' permission before running such a spot. If her loved ones gave the OK to use Heather's image, who are we to cry foul?
What a crappy commercial.
Tasteless, tacky, ghoulish, & ill-advised. For shame!
her mom
had to give the okay for the commercial to run. I guess if the mother is okay with it, it's hypocritical for us to not be okay with it. They use dead actors all the time and it's no different because she's a child. That was THE tagline back in the day.
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