Many Breaking Bad viewers remember the show best for Walter White's and Jesse Pinkman's first actual score in the drug game with meth addict/kingpin Tuco Salamanca in the cartel. Because of how well-remembered that scene is even 15 years later, it appears that the three of them will be making a reunion for the upcoming Super Bowl commercial for Popcorners.
Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and Raymond Cruz all reprised their characters to recreate scenes from Breaking Bad seasons one and five in an advertisement for Popcorners. The most notable among the changes is substituting the iconic baby blue crystal meth with the product at hand.
In the commercial, scenes from multiple Breaking Bad episodes were remade, as it starts with Jesse saying the iconic line, "You're an artist!" to Walt, except this time, Walt responds with, "Actually Jesse, it's just basic ingredients," instead of "Actually, it's just basic chemistry." While distributing to Tuco, the psychotic methhead aggressively grabs the Popcorners, much like Tuco usually would. However, this time, Walt uses his iconic line of "Say my name" but instead uses the line to demand Tuco say the name of the chip. Tuco does his iconic maniacal laugh before trying out the chip, much like he would snort the meth. When he does, he uses his iconic line, "Tight! Tight! Tight!" before demanding that they make seven iconic flavors for him to sell, intimidating Walt and Jesse in the process.
The episodes referenced came from the Breaking Bad pilot, the seventh and final episode of season 1, "A No-Rough-Stuff-Type Deal," and the seventh episode of season 5, "Say My Name." It makes sense that they used these episodes because of the impact those moments had on the story. Walt's meth impressed Jesse to the point where he respected Walt, while Tuco's psychotic nature let both Jesse and Walt know what kind of person they were associating themselves with. And, of course, Walt's "say my name" line indicated just how far down the rabbit hole he had become.
Because Breaking Bad is considered one the greatest shows ever made, and since it's been almost 10 years since the show ended, it can now be regarded as a nostalgic classic for those who watched the show during its run. So, making a Super Bowl ad by recreating some of its more well-known scenes doesn't feel far-fetched. It also shows that the television drama is still so fondly remembered to this day that fans will have no trouble remembering both the scenes and the lines that gave Breaking Bad the reputation it has today.
Here's a question. Will its prequel Better Call Saul, which just wrapped up less than a year ago, get that same treatment several years from now? Better Call Saul came on television initially in Breaking Bad's shadow due to its status as a prequel. However, over time, it became so good that viewers forgot or didn't even care about its ties to Breaking Bad when it all wrapped up because it stood out on its own. Breaking Bad was the more groundbreaking show because of how it portrays a regular man descending into a sociopath, but Better Call Saul managed to become a show right on par with its predecessor. Who's to say there can't be a Slippin' Jimmy ad in the future?
Breaking Bad can currently be streamed on Netflix.
Source: PopCorners/YouTube