Eric Fensler, writer and creator from comedy group Tim & Eric, has teamed up with spirits and wine company Pernod Ricard USA to direct Party-Like-A-Pro, a series of infomercial spoofs for Malibu Rum featuring its new product Malibu Cocktails, a line of premixed drinks packaged in ready-to-use pouches.
The two infomercials, “Porta Party Pro” and “Shaper Shaker” feature bizarre cocktail accessories that seem to be inspired by the Japanese art of chindōgu—an automatic cocktail shaker that uses electricity to shock the muscles in your arms, and a gas-powered frozen drink blender/dispenser that you wear on your back for ultimate portability. Unfortunately, the products are fake; a disclaimer informs us “product not available in any/all countries.” It is clear, however, that a real product is being advertised: Malibu’s new line of ready-to-use premixed cocktails, which are featured distractingly at the end of each infomercial.
The final video in the series is a product demo gone haywire on the fictitious morning show Hey Sunrise! All three videos in the series feature “celebrity” endorser Mike Morgan, who answers the 1-800 number displayed at the end of the commercials. (We called it–it’s interactive: 1-800-466-1672). Again the Malibu Cocktails are prominently featured, and no one is being fooled here. Nevertheless the videos are hilarious and worth watching.
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Party-Like-A-Pro isn’t Malibu’s first foray into the web series game; back in 2008 the rum company teamed up with Yahoo! UK to make Get Your Island On hosted by Tom Price. But by tapping a creator like Fensler, whose roots are in online video, Malibu is showing a new level of comfort with online video creators that may be inspiring to other major brands.
