New Jay Leno Ad Takes a Dig at Conan

By Mike Hess Posted Feb 19th 2010 08:06AM

With all of the damage done by the late-night wars that eventually led to Conan O'Brien's ouster and Jay Leno reclaiming the 'Tonight Show' gig once again, you'd think that subtlety and good-guy cheer would be the way to go for NBC and Jay as they try to wash their hands of the mess. Not so much. In a new commercial for the return of Leno to 'Tonight,' they clearly use the ad not just as a reminder that Jay's back at a new time after the Olympics, but to claim that Conan never belonged there in the first place.

In the commercial, Leno is seen driving down California's glorious Pacific Coast Highway in a Shelby Cobra. Leno, a classic car enthusiast, is seen tearing down the highway with a "10" decal on the side of the car, alluding to his old and failed time slot. After a quick smile, Leno shifts gears in the car, and the "10" decal flies off to reveal one that says "11:35."

That's not so bad, right? Well, the real stinger is in the soundtrack.

During the ad, Leno is coasting to the Beatles tune 'Get Back,' which just as the time changes on the car's decals declares "Get back to where you once belonged."

So, is NBC saying that Conan never deserved the seat they gave him and then took away? Keep in mind, Conan can't say anything -- disparaging or not -- about NBC and his fallout with the network until September thanks to his $45 million settlement.

So, as Leno readies for his March re-debut, we just hope he and NBC can keep things classy and not resort to beating a dead, red-headed horse.

Tags: jay leno

Comments

(166)

Friday 19 February

By joeinbost

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Conan got screwed People tuned out at 10 for Jay and then stayed with what ever News that came on after the 10PM slot. The person Leno should be cheap shotting is that MORON who thought up the idea of moving Jay to 10 PM

By Jason

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Conan bombed because people turned NBC off when Leno came on at 10. Local affiliates were losing all ad revenue because no one was watching the local NBC news after Leno. The same local affiliated were threatening to boycott Leno's show. Leno, and the people at NBC, were in big trouble and felt they needed to blame Conan for their idiotic mistakes. I loved Conan. He was fresher, funnier and better than Jay or Dave, and I'll watch him if he goes to FOX.
Slick

By Gurbs

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The ad isn't a shot at Conan. The author is looking more into and making something out of nothing. With that said, Leno is made of boring suckage. Conan is so much smarter and funnier. Leno should have had to do a year of stand up touring and get a feel of what people like instead of the boring drool he dishes out every week. He had the exact same show on at 9pm that he had before and it probably be exactly the same when he returns to the tonight show. NBC is made of dumb and it will eventually bite them in the ass.

By Lissa

Where is the "claim" in the ad that Conan never belonged that this article talks about? If I were Jay, I'd call a lawyer. It seems to be the station of all internet writers now to look for an angle of a story, however obtuse or untrue, that we the stupid public would never have thought of before, and then write an article around it. At the very least, this is a real stretch, but the headline got our eyes to take a look, and that is their aim, truth be damned. Feeling manipulated yet?

By Joanne

I don't know why people are blaming Jay Leno for Conan's failure.
Conan is the bad guy here. He is the one who would not sign a contract unless he got the Tonight Show in 5 years. NBC went along and Conan got what he wanted. Jay was gracious and supportive. Conan failed. Yes, it takes time to build an audience base. It took Jay 18 months to beat Letterman. However, Jay started with a small base and built an audience base. Each month his ratings got a little better and he eventually beat Letterman. Conan started with a base and went down and down and down. Conan insisted Leno be fired so he could have Leno's job. Then he fails miserably at the job but still walks away with millions. Why is anyone feeling sorry for Conan? If there are so many of you Conan fans out there, Where were you? Why were his ratings so low?

Saturday 20 February

By sechlers

i SOOO agree with every word you said. you are sooo right!!!

By Barb

Out of all the people that say they will not watch Jay Leno when he returns, how many of them watched before?

By ci.

I think your over thinking the situation.

By Ann

This is another example of the media trying to cause trouble and make something out of nothing.

By Jim Mangum

I put this Leno/Conan absurdity in the same catagory when Laugh-in said NBC was the No Body Cares network.

By Josh

Conan has always been funnier. Leno's show is so boring and just puts you to sleep. I would give jay credit if he was half as talented as conan but hes not even close. you just couldnt stand him being a better host then you. They would be better off giving the tonight show to Snooki...lmao

By Pa

I wonder if Nbc even considered trying Leno on a daytime talkshow after the affilates made them cancel his 10:00 show.
Most of his audience is retired anyway. It might have worked.

By B

Why is popeater and this writer trying to constantly trying to make Leno look bad? No such thing as unbiased journalism here!
Really get over it, you will have no affect on Jays success or failure. Your not that important!

Sunday 21 February

By Edward

total overreaction. no conan undertones detected at all.

By douglas

TALK ABOUT A REACH! This ad is supposed to be a jab at Conan? Really? LMBO!! Clearly the title of this post and etc was just a ploy to get people to click on the link.

Lame.

By Daryl

Screw Conan, he sucked anyway. The guy doesn't have a funnybone in his entire body. Hooray for leno!!!!

By Nick H.

Leno Apologists — Whatever you think of Will Ferrell, and whomever did what to whom at NBC, this much is clear: Jay Leno is the unfunniest man on television and a self-centered d-bag. Conan's two-minute Tonight Show best-of montage was better than Jay's entire previous run on the show. Conan will be back on the air somewhere in the fall and in the end, it won't matter that it isn't on the Tonight Show — Jay ruined that franchise about 18 years ago.

By Julie Henson

One of the best parts of the Tonight Show was the banter between Jay & Kevin. If the reason Kevin is leaving has anything to do with money, NBC better wise up. There was only part of his band on the ten o'clock program and that went over like a lead balloon as far as we were concerned. No other band will replace what NBC had before they fouled the whole thing up.

By mike

I immediately thought how smug Jay Leno was as if he were James Cameron and was ready to shout 'I'm the Kind of the World'
I will eagerly watch the ratings to see if I'm wrong.

By James

What a rag AOL is turning into!
Hess, thats a far stretch, don't you think?

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