It’s always an accomplishment when marketing teams are able to fit in so much stupid in just around 30 seconds, but this new commercial for Venom and ESPN might just take the proverbial cake. Depicting ESPN personalities Charles Woodson and Randy Moss recruiting Eddie Brock (a green-screened Tom Hardy) as a potential sports mascot, there isn’t a second of sanity in this advertisement.
Why did these ESPN dudes pull this disheveled dude to be a new mascot? Judging from their absolutely terrified reactions, they had no clue that Tom Hardy was about to transform into a freak of nature that looks like its made out of tainted Silly Putty. And what, this awful CGI glob decided to eat these poor sports fans? I guess it’s funny because people are dead. Not even a drop of blood, just a couple of spilled cups of water—and that “yes, yes!” line at the end might be more unsettling than anything else in the video.
I truly have no idea why I spent way more than 30 seconds airing my grievances about a dumb advertisement that was just clearly ESPN having fun. It’s probably because I hate fun. Venom is out on theaters super soon, by the way, on October 5. You can check out the latest trailer, which has a better look at Venom’s tongue, right here.
