Some Super Bowl, eh?! Okay…so the game kind of disappointed, but at least The Weeknd performed at halftime. Nice! Well, we’ll be honest, the halftime show wasn’t exactly the best we’ve ever seen…BUT there were some good commercials. Actually, those were bad as well. There was that one with some actors from That ’70s Show and Shaggy. Another one showed Nite Owl for .047 seconds, which was pretty cool. Were Paul Rudd and Drake in an Aaron Rodgers commercial for some insurance company too? Yikes. BUT WHAT A GAME!
Let’s be honest, last night’s Super Bowl, its halftime show, and 97.5 percent of its commercials sucked absolute shit. If watching The Muppets sell their sewn souls for DoorDash and seeing Springsteen stumping for Jeep before Tom Brady’s 47th hoisting of the Lombardi Trophy didn’t exactly spark joy, let us temporarily forget about the unending nightmare that is the present and, instead, venture back to the past.
Specifically, let’s watch some Menards bloopers! Before Menards was, well, what it is today (for better or worse), it was just a regional department store with an iconic pitchman. Actor and voiceover professional Ray Szmanda was born in Milwaukee and, for many years, he helped put the now-multinational corporation on the map with his iconic delivery and distinct salesmanship.
Through the years, Szmanda and his inimitable side-mouth delivery were consistently excellent. Sometimes, though, he wasn’t perfect. Every now and then, one of Wisconsin’s most famed commercial actors wasn’t exactly on top of his game. While Szmanda passed away in 2018 at the age of 91, we’ll always have the memories of his outstanding commercials and, yes, we’ll also always have this hilarious blooper reel.
While we’re at it, here’s a video we saw of Szmanda speaking at a much lower register than usual. WEIRD!
And shit, while you’re here, feel free to watch this guy talk about the extra lyrics he wrote for a Menards jingle that never made it to air. For the record, all of this is better than seeing that Amy Schumer mayonnaise ad again. Rest in peace, Ray Szmanda!