Last fall, Fox Searchlight gave away limited-edition Birdman action figures as part of its marketing for the movie. Now, the Best Picture Oscar winner is reopening in cinemas—and getting a dose of new marketing, including a commercial for those toys.
It's a fun little morsel of '90s nostalgia—a parody of old Saturday morning toy ads. And like the film it's promoting, it's a multi-layered gem. It has more cuts than the entire movie, though, and also has young children (certainly not the target demo of the R-rated film itself). This is surely a nod to the original Birdman cartoon from the '60s and the subsequent Adult Swim reboot.
"Hey kids! You too can now defeat Birdman's arch-nemesis The Condor with this spiffy Birdman Action Figure! Batteries not included," says the YouTube page, which goes on to mention that Birdman reopens in theaters this weekend.
Check out the ad, but don't get too close—it "smells like balls."
And for more Birdman action figure goodness, check out BirdmanSpeaks.com—and click on the speech bubbles. But make sure you have headphones. This isn't G-rated stuff.