Judd Apatow, the comedic mind behind hits like Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, recently revealed a Super Bowl-sized missed opportunity. Speaking on the Superfly podcast with Dana Carvey and David Spade, Apatow confessed he turned down a Lay’s commercial featuring Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd, stars of his 2005 breakout film.
The commercial, as many viewers will recall, featured Rogen and Rudd reminiscing about bizarre shared experiences. Apatow explained that he was initially approached about the ad, which was intended to riff on the “You know how I know you’re gay?” exchange from The 40-Year-Old Virgin. However, Apatow doubted the joke could be successfully updated for a modern audience, so he declined.
“I didn’t think it would work,” Apatow admitted. Turns out, he was wrong. Rogen and Rudd went ahead with the commercial (with some significant alterations), and it proved to be a hit. Apatow, having “not believed in [himself],” watched the Super Bowl and saw his stars raking in millions for a funny ad he could have been a part of. His reaction? “I was upset.”
While Apatow might be kicking himself, it’s worth noting the Super Bowl ad took a vastly different direction than the original film scene. The Lay’s spot replaced the arguably homophobic humor with a series of absurd shared memories, culminating in Rudd officiating Rogen’s wedding to a ghost. The shift in tone likely contributed to the commercial’s success, making it palatable for a broader audience and perhaps even obscuring its connection to the 40-Year-Old Virgin bit for many viewers.
