Billy Eichner's persona on his show Billy on the Street is so memorable that as soon as fans saw the Burger King ad below, they immediately thought of Eichner—and began lobbing insults at BK and calling the agency behind it lazy.
Man on the street characters are anything but new, but Eichner's scream-filled spin is a fresh take that has endeared fans and celebrities alike. The BK spot, with its own shrieking spokesman, might not hit exactly the same notes, but you can understand the grumbling.
Also, the BK spot just isn't that funny. Eichner's show isn't hilarious because of the format; it's hilarious because of Eichner himself. The BK spot isn't on YouTube. But of course, in the the Internet age, any imitation will be discovered—and ridiculed—eventually, whether it's a sketch show celebrating its 40-year run or a 15-second spot.
Burger King did not immediately respond to AdFreak's requests for comment. But as you can see, McDonald's has already weighed in.
@billyeichner Can’t wait to see you! Oh, and bring Elena!
— McDonald's (@McDonalds) October 13, 2014
Check out some of the other tweets below.
Hey @billyeichner you know you’ve made it when Burger King has a man on the street commercial with a guy yelling at passersby about burgers.
— scharpling (@scharpling) October 13, 2014
Please tweet @BurgerKing& tell them to stop stealing from #BillyOntheStreet. Then I'm going over there & I'm gonna FLAME BROIL HIS DICK.
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 13, 2014
Yo @BurgerKing, stop stealing from the hilarious @billyeichner and stick to what you're good at: giving me diarrhea.
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) October 13, 2014
An ad agency knew @billyeichner's bit well enough to sell it @BurgerKing. And thus should also know better than to fuck with Billy Eichner.
— Bryan (@bryanlark) October 13, 2014
Dear @burgerking, if @billyeichner stalked ppl in the street in a giant weird plastic head & royal robes selling his meat,YOU'd be SO PISSED
— Adam Shankman (@adammshankman) October 13, 2014
Hey @burgerking, you were stupid if you think hiring some random actor to rip off @billyeichner was going to work. I WAS AVAILABLE!!!
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) October 13, 2014