Super Bowl Ads: Leno's Appearance With Letterman Scores Big

Watch The "Late Show" Spot

The ads during CBS' coverage last night of Super Bowl XLIV that "tried to titillate viewers with sexual imagery and near-naked performers probably stirred less buzz" than the 15-second promo for the "Late Show" featuring David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey and NBC's Jay Leno, according to Tom Shales of the WASHINGTON POST. The spot opened with Letterman "sitting on a couch, eating chips and watching TV," and the camera then "pulled back to reveal two companions watching with Dave: Oprah Winfrey ... and the totally unexpected Jay Leno." The notion of "having an NBC star on CBS air was cleared" by CBS Corp. President & CEO Les Moonves, "executives at NBC, and Leno, who when contacted by Dave's people, agreed immediately." The ad was taped last Tuesday night in the Ed Sullivan Theater in N.Y. Winfrey was "smuggled in unnoticed and Leno arrived in a disguise that included dark glasses and a fake mustache." Worldwide Pants President & CEO Rob Burnett said that Letterman "himself dreamed up the spot and wrote it" (WASHINGTON POST, 2/8). Burnett said that Leno was "able to get Tuesday free -- NBC had rearranged its schedule to pre-empt his 10 p.m. show that night -- and took the NBC corporate jet." Burnett said of shooting the ad, "I'd say it took no more than 20 or 30 minutes" (NYTIMES.com, 2/7).

UNEXPECTED TWIST: In Chicago, Phil Rosenthal wrote the "unexpected promo was the latest -- and easily the most unexpected -- twist in the late-night soap opera." Burnett said that he believed the taping was the "first face-to-face meeting between Letterman and Leno since Leno's last appearance on Letterman's NBC 'Late Night' just before taking over" NBC's "Tonight Show." Burnett added that Letterman and Leno "got along fine" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 2/7). Burnett said that the "only CBS official who knew of the plan" was Moonves. Burnett: "We wanted desperately to keep this a secret. Most of the staff didn't know. We just knew we had to keep the circle extraordinarily tight." In L.A., Gold & Fernandez reported NBC Exec Producer Debbie Vickers, NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chair Jeff Gaspin and NBCU President & CEO Jeff Zucker "were in the loop, but few others had a clue." Burnett said, "I think for Jay, he thought of it less as a promo and more of a funny piece to be doing on the Super Bowl." While the "Late Show" staff "speculated internally about what the ad would do for Leno's image," Burnett said that Letterman was "focused on another aspect." Burnett: "Dave is ruled by one law: Is it funny? That's all he really cared about" (LATIMES.com, 2/7). Burnett added that he contacted Jeff Ross, Exec Producer for former NBC "Tonight Show" host Conan O'Brien, but Ross said that the "timing wasn't right" (DAILY VARIETY, 2/8).

CRITICS LOVE IT: DAILY VARIETY's Brian Lowry wrote under the header, "Dave & Jay Steal The Show." Lowry: "Given the vitriol Letterman has flung Leno's way, it was an especially nifty idea to put the two together in this grand showcase. Moreover, it was smart for both guys to put some of the petulant nonsense behind them, if only for the day" (VARIETY.com, 2/7). On Long Island, Verne Gay writes, "This was one of the great ads in Super Bowl history -- a piece of theater that we (or at least I) will remember for a long time" (NEWSDAY, 2/8). In Baltimore, David Zurawik wrote, "What a great move to get Leno and have the two latenight rivals bickering. Brilliant!" (BALTIMORESUN.com, 2/7). Deutsch Inc. Chair & CEO Donny Deutsch: "For those two guys to go on together to kind of make fun of themselves just truly shows both their iconic statures. Just a stroke of genius" ("Today," NBC, 2/8). In Detroit, Julie Hinds wrote, "If the TV hosts who've been blasting each other with jokes on the late-night wars can come together for a good laugh, maybe we all can" (FREEP.com, 2/7). Also in Detroit, Mekeisha Madden Toby writes of the ad, "Wow! NBC is so desperate to improve Leno's image that executives allowed him to appear on a competing network with Letterman, a guy who is supposed to be his enemy" (DETROIT NEWS, 2/8).