The Winklevoss Twins "Get Crackin'"

Author's Note: From time to time I will look at recently released ads that I think are interesting. The ad may be amazing, horrible or mediocre, but for some reason or another I think it is worth discussing. I hope you do also! As I share my reaction, please feel free to share yours in the comments section.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss had an exciting summer: their second lawsuit against Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg was dismissed, they were called assholes by the President of Harvard University, and to cap it off they became spokesmen for Wonderful Pistachios?

Wonderful Pistachios has made the Winklevoss twins, who notoriously sued Mark Zuckerberg claiming that he stole the idea for Facebook, the stars of their first aired commercial of the 2011 “Get Crackin’” campaign. They are the latest in a line of celebrity spokespeople who leave many scratching their heads and intentionally stir up a storm of publicity.

The ad features the twins sitting with a bowl of the nuts in front of them while they poke fun at their legal troubles with Zuckerberg.

As far as recognizable personalities go, the Winklevoss twins are not what you would call “beloved” or even really liked, especially following their portrayal in The Social Network, the movie which tells the story of Facebook and the law suit, and the remarks by Harvard President Larry Summers.

Most brands wouldn’t let these guys near their product. But then again, Wonderful Pistachios isn’t just any brand and they have never shied away from provocative figures. Last year, they launched their campaign with a spot staring an even more contentious character, Rod Blagojevich.

“The company sought out the ex-governor's services because it was looking for personalities who represent ‘every corner of the fabric of U.S. society, ‘and didn't mind his conviction for lying to the FBI, said Dominic Engels, Paramount's vice president of marketing,” reported Mary Ellen Podmilik and Andrew Grimm of the Chicago Tribune.

A spokesperson who has been convicted for lying isn't what most companies would choose; the goal of a such a person, after all, is to have the customer trust them.

It is obvious from their decisions to use Blagojevich and the Winklevoss twins that “no publicity is bad publicity” in the mind of Wonderful Pistachios. And that publicity has completely overshadowed the content of these commercials in the public discussion.

Showing how the Winklevoss Twins cracks a pistachio (they do it “cautiously” by the way) echoes of an earlier campaign demonstrating how everyday people ate a very different product, something which very few have picked up on in the industry press.

Reese’s showed the unique way that people ate peanut butter cups in their “There’s No Wrong Way to Eat a Reese’s” campaign from the 1990's. Even having seen this spot dozens of times, "how Mr. Sullivan eats a Reese's" is still more charming and surprising than the obvious joke of how the Winklevoss twins crack a pistachio.

With such predictable jokes -- Would Kermit the Frog really crack a pistachio any other way than "greenly," as they state in another ad from this year? -- the only surprise left in the "Get Crackin'" campaign is seeing who will be controversial enough to earn a role in 2012's leadoff commercial.

Here’s my vote: “Charlie Sheen does it winningly.”