Dead men tell no tales, but like John Lennon, they can star in TV commercials

December 28, 7:58 PMBeatles ExaminerSteve Marinucci

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The new One Laptop Per Child TV ad featuring John Lennon has caused some debate. Should it be John's voice instead of an imitator? Should it be John at all?

Using a dead celebrity, in this case John Lennon, to sell a charity program for laptops for children is not a worst case scenario given some of the dead celebrity TV ads in the past.

How about this DirectTV commercial featuring Craig T. Nelson and Heather O'Rourke in a takeoff on their movie, "Poltergiest." O'Rourke died in 1988 at 12 from cardiac arrest as a result of septic shock. This commercial aired earlier this year. Although there was criticism of the ad, O'Rourke's mother fully approved of her appearance, a DirecTV exec told the New York Times.

 Then there's this 2007 commercial with British comic Bob Monkhouse, who died from prostate cancer in 2003 at age 75. It aired four years after his death. The commercial, set in a graveyard, was part of a British campaign for prostate cancer awareness.

How about this Orville Redenbacher commercial from 2007?  This one defines creepy.    

It is unsettling to hear Lennon's voice simulated and to see his lips moving and not saying the words coming out of his mouth. On the other hand, would this have been something he would have gotten behind if he was alive? It's conceivable that he would have.

Bottom line: You don't have to like the Lennon commercial, but at least he's not standing in a graveyard.