'NCIS' Star Gary Cole Reprises 'Office Space' Role for Black Friday Ad
Long before Gary Cole was leading the NCIS team, he was giving everyone a bad case of the Mondays at Initech. The actor reprised his Office Space role in a new Walmart ad to get consumers excited about Black Friday. The commercial also features appearances from Diedrich Bader and Ajay Naidu, who also starred in Office Space.
The spot promotes Walmart's Black Friday deals that go live on Mondays at 7 p.m. ET on the retailer's website. There are plenty of references to Office Space throughout the spot, particularly with Bill Lumbergh (Cole) walking around with his coffee mug. In another segment, Samir Nagheenanajar (Naidu) has an online chat with Michael Bolton, but it's not the character played by David Herman. Instead, it's that jerk singer who stole his name.
Another scene shows Lawrence (Bader) getting a notification from the Walmart app that Black Friday deals are on Mondays now. Lumbergh also points out that the office will have to move Hawaiian shirt day to Mondays as well. The entire spot is set to Geto Boys' "Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta," which was featured throughout Office Space.
Office Space hit theaters in February 1999 and was initially a box office disappointment. It has since become a true cult classic though, thanks to its constant airings on cable and its successful home video release. Written and directed by Mike Judge, the movie centers on Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), who has had enough of his boring job at Initech. Jennifer Aniston also starred as Joanna, the girl of Peter's dreams who had also grown frustrated with her job as a waitress.
Walmart's Black Friday commercials will roll out in episodic fashion on Mondays in November, and will also be played in movie theaters, Casey Schlaybaugh, Walmart's vice president of brand marketing and strategy, told Variety. "We know customers want to shop for deals earlier, and they want to shop for deals often," Schlaybaugh added of the company's plan to roll out deals throughout November.
This is the latest ad campaign to bank on 1990s nostalgia. Earlier this year, General Motors' Super Bowl commercial was a sequel to The Sopranos, which debuted the same year Office Space was released. General Motors also featured an Austin Powers reunion for a Super Bowl spot highlighting their electric vehicles.
Cole now stars as NCIS Special Agent Alden Parker, who was introduced on CBS' NCIS last season. He replaced Mark Harmon's Gibbs as the new team leader. In 2014, he was nominated for an Emmy for Veep. NCIS airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS and is available to stream on Paramount+.