'Sabrina' Star Melissa Joan Hart Reunites with Voice of Salem for Hilarious New Commercial
Melissa Joan Hart is back in character as Sabrina the Teenage Witch, along with her most popular co-star. The actress reprised her role for a new commercial for Kraft Heinz Coffee Brands, released on Wednesday to celebrate National Coffee Day. She was joined by none other than Nick Bakay, the original voice of Salem the cat.
Hart and Bakay reunited for the first time in 25 for this parody infomercial, produced by Ryan Reynolds' Maximum Effort company. It begins with Hart in a picturesque kitchen joking about how she can be "kind of a witch" before her first cup of coffee each morning. Before long, she is bantering with the voice-over announcer, Bakay. However, the closest they come to acknowledging their old connection is Hart saying: "your voice sounds very familiar, have we met?" and Bakay answering: "for legal reasons, let's say no."
From there, Hart and Bakay quip about three coffee brands available from Kraft Heinz - Maxwell House, Gevalia and Ethical Bean. The whole thing is set up as a parody of prolonged infomercials, with Bakay beseeching viewers to "order now!" In the end, they reveal that they are advertising a real bundle of all three coffees, available for $19.99.
The two stars draw attention to some of the lesser-known uses for coffee grounds, which can function as fertilizer, furniture polish and all kinds of other roles. These multipurpose uses do range into the ridiculous at some points, but not outside the realm of possibilities.
This production is a big stunt in the world of TV. Kraft Heinz has gone all out by purchasing three and four-minute ad slots during some of the biggest network TV shows in the world this season, including Bachelor in Paradise, Good Morning America, Shark Tank and more. It is the first time a coffee brand has commanded such attention, so the company is trying to make it count.
While the retro infomercial vibe is fun in the moment, it does not require customers to call a toll-free line for their coffee. Instead, the bundle of Maxwell House, Gevalia and Ethical Bean is available on AsBeanOnTV.com. For those with a more dialed-in preference, the coffees are available individually at different prices.
As for Hart and Bakay, fans can hear them bantering in 163 episodes of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, available to stream on Paramount+ and Amazon Prime Video. It is also available on digital stores or in DVD collections. Disclosure: PopCulture is owned by ViacomCBS Streaming, a division of ViacomCBS.