Commentary

Roguish Sheen Remains Hollywood And Madison Avenue Draw

Twenty-five years ago as Charlie Sheen was being lauded for his role in “Platoon,” director Oliver Stone told People: "He was idealized in the movie, but the real Charlie has got a bad boy quality."

Stone’s judgment has often come into question, but he kinda sorta got that right.

All of Sheen’s troubles from overdosing to domestic violence, leading up to his firing as the star of CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” last year, have been well-documented. The canning, of course, sparked a media tour where he made all kinds of wacky comments, calling his sanity into question.

No matter, Hollywood and Madison Avenue have very quickly opened their arms. This week alone shows how hard it is for the cultural hubs to keep a bad man down.

For a good while, CBS and Warner Bros. stuck by Sheen's role on “Two and a Half Men” before allegations made it untenable. Pretty soon, though, he had a new deal that could bring him even more money.

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Lionsgate and FX signed him for new comedy “Anger Management,” which is set to debut in June. It’s hardly a test run, where Sheen might need to prove he’s still got it over a full season.

If certain ratings hurdles are met for the first 10 episodes – which is about as certain as Sheen’s Sober Valley Lodge not being sober -- Lionsgate gets the automatic green light for 90 more.

So as interest in the new series builds, advertisers have cast their net with Sheen over the past few days, expecting his rakishness and magnetism to ring the register for cars, satellite packages and beer. (The last might fit Sheen best as a likely expert on suds.)

Give Fiat credit for honesty. It didn’t try to couch why it hired Sheen. There was no attempt to say a reformed talented actor is the perfect representative for a car looking to blaze a new path.

Nope, the Italian car maker noted its new Abarth is “the bad boy of the Fiat vehicle lineup and Charlie Sheen personifies the edgy and fun attributes” of it.

Its new spot seems set amid the non-stop raging in Sheen’s home. There’s a shot of mixed drinks and loads of gawking women as he speeds through a party before emerging in the arms of a model, saying he loves being under “house arrest” and asking “what do I get for good behavior?”

On Friday, DirecTV said Sheen and his roguish visage would star in the latest ad in its campaign showing how miserable life gets with cable. DirecTV positions itself as an edgy alternative, so its attempt to capitalize on Sheen’s image isn't that surprising. The creative uses a man, whose behavior might actually resemble a ticked-off Sheen.

The man beaten down by cable is so frustrated he heads to a bar, where he becomes “up for anything.” Next up is a Turkish bath house, where he finds Sheen enjoying himself.

“When you meet Charlie Sheen, you reenact scenes from ‘Platoon’ ... ,” the voiceover says. “Don’t reenact scenes from ‘Platoon’ with Charlie Sheen. Get rid of cable.” (Sheen is shown in camouflage behind bushes with a crossbow ready for fire.)

Sheen apparently has also just finished filming a spot for Bavaria beer, tweeting that “it’s a wrap” and he had a great time with friend and actor Tony Todd (also in “Platoon”). Todd tweeted he enjoyed working with his BFF and “warlock,” which Sheen called himself during his unhinging after leaving “Two and a Half Men.”

Bavaria is Dutch, so it’s not clear if the ad will run stateside. The brand is no stranger to rabble-rousing. At the 2010 World Cup, it sent an army of scantily clad women in orange sporting the beer logo inside games. The ambush marketing stunt brought publicity, but the women were kicked out since Budweiser was an official sponsor, while two of them were arrested.  

Arrests, babes and beer. Sounds like Sheen. And clearly a mix that doesn't deter the entertainment or marketing epicenters.

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