Orbit Gum Sponsors 'Dirty Shorts' From Will Arnett and Jason Bateman
Crass video, released today, is the first of three sponsored shorts their new studio created for Orbit.
DumbDumb, an advertiser-centric production studio, has released the first of three “dirty shorts” with Orbit Gum. Jason Bateman and Will Arnett star in the crass sketch (see video below), which runs five minutes and depicts a strict mother and father (Bateman) confronted with their young daughter’s skeevy 40-year-old prom date (Arnett).
Bateman and Arnett are also the driving force behind the DumbDumb enterprise, which they launched yesterday in New York with the help of Electus, the IAC-owned entertainment studio founded by NBC television alum Ben Silverman. The actors have previously appeared together in FOX’s Arrested Development and separately in films like “Horton Hears a Who” (Arnett) and “Up in the Air” (Bateman).
Arnett and Bateman screened the video last night at a launch party for DumbDumb, which claims to have already signed multiple other deals with brands.
Orbit’s first short was posted on YouTube this morning, and all three shorts will begin appearing in various destinations on the Web in the coming months. Orbit agency Energy BBDO in Chicago had creative input, and DumbDumb also consulted with a staff of writers, including members of the Upright Citizen’s Brigade.
“I’m not a seller; I’m not an advertiser. We don’t claim to do that,” Bateman told the New York Times. “We’re just looking to make cool pieces of entertainment and just arbitrarily make that subject matter a brand’s message.”
The launch party came one day after the similarly themed Digitas Digital Content NewFront in New York, where Silverman and Bateman were also in attendance. That event gathered an audience of advertisers and agencies – mainly Digitas and its clients – to view online content initiatives from stars like Lisa Kudrow, Kevin Pollack, and Seth Green.
Under DumbDumb’s relationship with IAC/Electus, the partner gets first shot at U.S. and international distribution rights on all of the studio’s content developed for TV, movies, and digital channels.
Follow Zachary Rodgers on Twitter at @zachrodgers.
