The U.S. Open is heading to Los Angeles for the first time in 75 years. And because of this, two stars in Hollywood are headlining the promotion of the golf tournament that is currently seen on NBC. In May, a U.S. Open commercial premiered with Jason Bateman and Will Arnett. The two are on the golf course, and Arnett sinks a putt that makes Bateman jealous. Bateman wants Arnett to show him how he hit the shot but tells him “no touching,” during the process.
According to AdWeek, the campaign was created when members of NBCUniversal’s marketing department spotted Arnett and Bateman playing golf with Xander Schauffele and John McEnroe. “When we saw them there and the interaction between them, we thought, ‘Wow, this is very interesting. It’s incredibly entertaining,’” Joseph Lee, NCUniversal’s senior vice president of creative marketing, told AdWeek. “How can we bridge the world of entertainment with the world of golf? Can we create a campaign where we leverage that idea that L.A. is the mecca of entertainment and have them represent that world as it relates to golf?”
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The U.S. Open is set to take place at the Los Angeles Country Club from June 15-18. The last time the tournament was held in the Los Angeles area was in 1948 (Pacific Palisades) and Ben Hogan took home the title. Los Angeles will host the U.S. Open again in 2039. Matt Fitzpatrick is the reigning U.S. Open champion, and there are four golfers in history who have won the event at least four times — Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones, Hogan and Jack Nicklaus.
Bateman and Arnett know each other very well as they both starred in the sitcom Arrested Development for five seasons. The two also host a podcast with Sean Hayes called Smartless, and the three interview some of the top celebrities and public figures in the world. Bateman was recently seen in the movies Air and Fool’s Paradise. Last year, the 54-year-old actor finished his run on the hit Netflix series Ozark. Arnett is currently the host of the Fox competition series Lego Masters. Later this year, the 53-year-old actor can be seen in the sports film Next Goal Wins.
