WTF? Direct TV makes Poltergeist Commercial with Dead Heather O’ Rourke
Ranted:
October 3, 08 
Comments(17)
- By drvenkman
Comments(17)
- By drvenkman
Ummmm… Yeah so this is a little strange, creepy, odd, and wrong. A friend pointed this video out to me of a Direct TV Commercial where they use Heather O’ Rurke who is dead. What makes this ad so disturbing is that Craige T-Nelson wakes up next to his wife with the TV on, and you have a dead child actress in his room with spirits passing through her. Then! on top of that Nelson says: “Forgetting to switch to DirecTV? Yeah, that’s going to come back to haunt me.” This is just so wrong on so many levels! Check it out.
I could not agree with you more!!!! Were her parents informed about this???
I agree, it is creepy. The only way I would be ok with this commercial is if Heather O’Rourke’s parents gave permission and were financially compensated.
I think this commercial should be pulled and i am not easily offended.
This child actor is dead. It’s just morbid and in poor taste
Craig T Nelson must really need the paycheck to be a party to this ad, which exploits the image of a dead child. Sad.
I agree. This is the most disrespectful and unethical way to promote a stupid satellite tv corporation. Heather’s parents sold the rights to use her image many years ago (before her death), but this is in very poor taste. I will never support Direct TV, and I would encourage those who do have it to cancel in boycott. This is disgraceful.
I agree… This is creepy and it smacks of exploitation. I kind of felt the same way when they used old footage of Gene Kelly dancing to sell something. I mean, some ad guy thought this up and SOMEONE thought it was a good idea. But you gotta wonder what Heather O’Rourke would think of her image being used to shill Dish TV… Just seems disrespectful to me. Of course, it would be great if SOMEONE would cancel their Direct TV service as a means of sending a message. But no one will do this… We’ve become a nation of unpricipled TV addicts. I mean, sure, we’ll complain. But who is going to cancel their TV service???
Okay, we are watching the baseball playoffs in Chicago. Fox has played this commercial over 8 times (so far) since the game has started. It is downright offensive. Watching it over and over again is upsetting to say the least.
I think it’s kind of weird, but I had no idea she was dead… On the other hand, I don’t know why people are making such a huge deal about it. I guarantee you her family approved it and got paid for it too!!!
Yeah i seen this and was like wtf,They crossed the line.And if her famliy did approve it then there going to hell.
It creeped me out immediately upon seeing it. If her family signed off on it…it’s not a major ethical issue…but it’s just pretty distasteful. I can’t believe they’re still playing it. Very macabre.
Oh MAN, is this so wrong! I’m a DirecTV customer and this ad has me seriously considering the move back to cable. I wonder if Spielberg was aware of this deal. It just goes to show you how low the marketing companies will stoop for the all mighty dollar.
I wish Heather’s family peace. Shame on you people!
It’s as though no one here is aware of the infinite tactics of the entertainment business. That said, why would it have been different had the actress lived to be older? Posthumous likeness is used every day in pop culture.
In October 2008, DirecTV began airing a national TV advertisement developed by Deutsch (part of the Interpublic Group of Companies) that featured O’Rourke’s famous “They’re here!” scene from Poltergeist blended with contemporary footage of her costar, Craig T. Nelson intended to mimic the film. After the advert drew criticism from bloggers and columnists for exploiting the deceased 12-year-old,[17] DirecTV responded in a Q&A session with readers of The New York Times; Jon Gieselman, the senior vice president for advertising and public relations at DirectTV, explained that O’Rourke’s family “was involved in the spot from start to finish. [and that] Heather’s mother not only approved, [...] she also commented that Heather’s inclusion was a wonderful tribute to her daughter.”[
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oh come on, they didnt mean it in a bad way.. direct tv has been taking so many classic films/tv shows and making them into commercials… its not like they made fun of her for being dead, they were promoting satellite tv and a hit movie!
Their new ad has David Spade watching Chris Farley dance around like a fool. I guess the tastelessness of DirectV knows no limits