Eric Andre on bringing his gonzo absurdism to commercial directing

Fans of Eric Andre’s comedy won’t be surprised to learn that, as a kid in the ’90s, he loved Fruit Gushers commercials—the ridiculously over-the-top ads where the kids ate the candy and their heads turned into fruit. “That’s the kind of stuff I grew up on,” Andre told Ad Age in an interview this week. “It really influenced my comedic sensibilities. You can see it in my show.” Andre has made absurdist comedy an art form over the past decade, notably on “The Eric Andre Show” on Comedy Central—and, really, anywhere he’s been able to practice his unruly form of humor. And he’s about to bring more of that madcap energy to advertising, as he just signed with RSA Films for representation as a commercial director. Ad Age Best Places to Work 2024 50 companies doing a standout job See the full list here Andre is fairly new to directing ads—his first commercial project was a 2021 holiday campaign for Sprite through Wieden+Kennedy New York. But he said he’s quickly learned to appreciate short-form spots as a venue for comedy. “There’s no burden of a narrative,” he said. “With half-hour television or a movie, you have to pay off the story and sometimes it can sap your creativity and absurdity. With a commercial or music video, you can just flex. For me, especially, to be psychedelic and absurd and unorthodox, commercials can be a great vehicle.” Andre likes to pull pranks and stunts, and said he wants to bring more of that unpredictability to advertising. He counts “Jackass” co-creator Jeff Tremaine as a mentor, and pointed to Tremaine’s 2014 hidden-camera “Up for Whatever” Super Bowl campaign for Bud Light as a great example of prank advertising. “Not just traditional or absurd comedy but also hidden-camera, prank-based stuff—I feel like that’s a niche that I excel at, that I can bring into commercial world as much as possible,” he said. For the 2021 Sprite campaign, Andre spoofed holiday specials—much as “The Eric Andre Show,” in a more extreme way, spoofs talk shows. Andre said the Sprite work, which celebrated the holidays from the Black perspective through lighthearted vignettes, was a good example of his collaborative approach to directing. “These things never come out of the oven fully baked. It takes a village,” he said. “The guy that I cast to be the talk-show host—he was really, really funny and had a great knack for improvisation. I’m always bringing my writers in to help punch up the material on the fly. And even after you shoot, you lean on your editors, too, and use every ounce of juice in their brain to make it funnier.” Ad Age Creativity Bookmark our section covering the best in brand creativity every day Read more here His other advertising work has included a Nike spot with Sabrina Ionescu (below) and a Veloz EV campaign with Sasquatch, Martians, a unicorn and the Tooth Fairy. Andre said he wants to push comedy into interesting new places in future projects—with clients and agencies that want that, too. “Usually when people are coming to me, they’re not looking for some run-of-the-mill idea—it’s a sign they’re open for a bit of gonzo silliness,” he said. “The client always comes in with their own vision, and I’m trying to sprinkle my spices on top of it. But I think as my body of work builds in the commercial space, I’ll get more freedom.” Andre plans to continue acting in commercials, as well, and on that front he’s got a prime gig coming right up—he’s set to star in Drumstick’s first-ever Super Bowl commercial next month.

Eric Andre on bringing his gonzo absurdism to commercial directing

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