Watch Weird Al As Radio Shack's Holiday Spokesman

Advertising Age Player //--> Radio Shack has a new, albeit oddball, spokesman: Weird Al Yankovic. Mr. Yankovic is appearing in the electonics chain's holiday campaign called "Gift Smart," which launches today. In the TV spot, he sings a new take on "Toyland," a song from the musical "Babes in Toyland." The lyrics, written by Mr. Yankovic with Omnicom's GSD&M, detail how Radio Shack is a destination for electronic gifts for everyone, including boys, girls, and "even cousin Bob who's 43 and lives at home." Mr. Yankovic has been active this year thanks to his his latest album, "Mandatory Fun," which was released in July and was the first comedy album to top the Billboard 200 chart since 1963; it also logged the largest sales week for a comedy album since 1994, when "The Beavis & Butt-Head Experience" sold 118,000 copies, according to Billboard. "Mandatory Fun" parodied recent pop songs including Iggy Azalea's "Fancy" and Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines." Mr. Yankovic's take on Mr. Thicke's song was titled "Word Crimes," a song about bad grammar. But he hasn't been particularly active on the commercial front through most of his career. The last time Mr. Yankovic appeared in a brand's advertising was in 1984 for a Diet Coke commercial, a spot that also features Richard Simmons and Kim Carnes.

Watch Weird Al As Radio Shack's Holiday Spokesman

Featured Stories