Entertainment

This '50 Shades' Parody Ad Is Too Good

by Rachel Simon

With the number of ads out on TV and around the globe, you'd have to be living in a hole not to know that 50 Shades Darker, the sequel to 50 Shades of Grey, is hitting theaters soon. And so the T-Mobile 50 Shades parody Super Bowl commercial, airing during the big game on Sunday, couldn't have felt timelier. Starring comedic actor Kristen Schaal, the ad was a hilarious play on the BDSM-featuring franchise, and if you weren't pumped already for 50 Shades Darker, out Valentine's Day, you likely were after seeing the new, themed commercial.

The ad features a blindfolded Schaal being led by a man into a "red room" like Christian Grey's in 50 Shades, complete with whips and chains. Yet the real center of attention is a stack of Verizon phones, because, the man says, every time Schaal goes over her data limit, she gets "punished." The ad criticizes Verizon's usage stipulations — aka "wireless pain" — before promoting T-Mobile's own plan. It's a smart, funny ad, and the 50 Shades parody is spot-on. With the new movie hitting theaters so soon, viewers are definitely watching this ad and thinking about both their phone plans and the theater tickets they need to buy ASAP.

In a later ad, Schaal appears once again, this time asking a tech support guy if she'll be punished for going over her data limit. He's visibly uncomfortable, but she seems to have fun with it, and it's yet another great, funny spoof of the 50 Shades sexual dynamic.

50 Shades may be a hugely successful series, but it's also all too easy to make fun of — which is why ads like these are so enjoyable to watch, especially during the Super Bowl.