If you weren't paying attention, you might have missed it. It was only 15 seconds long. During the most watched television show in history, David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey, and Jay Leno appeared together in a quarter-minute ad for the Letterman Show. In case you weren't among the 106 million folks watching last Sunday, here is the CBS commercial.
It is no secret that the recent shake up in late night television has given rise to acerbic (and funny) comments by both Letterman and Leno. And those who have been around long enough (like yours truly) remember the early days when Letterman made the transition from NBC to CBS and began the 17-year contest for late night bragging rights. So to see both Leno and Letterman in the same commercial with the queen of talk sitting between them was entertaining indeed.
Earlier this week the NY Times ran a piece that told how this commercial actually came together. According to the Letterman staff, entertainment was indeed the primary objective:
According to staff members of the “Late Show with David Letterman” who were on the scene that day — including the executive producer, Rob Burnett – it all happened because Mr. Letterman had an idea he thought would be truly funny: a Super Bowl ad that featured the two longest-running adversaries in late night, sitting with Ms. Winfrey as though at a Super Bowl party.
The interesting thing about this is that in the week's aftermath when pundits have put together their lists of favorite Super Bowl commercials, the Late Show ad is often included in the top picks. This got me to thinking. What is it about this ad that is so appealing? Other marketers spent months and millions of dollars putting together their spots. The Late Show ad was filmed in less than a half hour in the balcony of the Ed Sullivan theater.
The quick and easy answer, of course, is that seeing all three celebrities together is appealing all by itself. But I think the charm of the commercial goes way beyond that. There's just something inherently built into us that is attracted to reconciliation - even the 15-second, make-believe, Super Bowl kind.
Those preachers among us like to say that there is a place within each one of us that only God can fill. The greatest God story that we love to tell, and sing about, and preach upon is how God Himself provided the reconciliation for each of us to be in relationship with Him. We read in Romans 5:11: "We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." Much of the story of the Bible is about reconciliation between us and God as well as between us and... us!
The truth of the Leno-Letterman feud is that there is actually a cordiality between them that might be surprising to many observers. Again, the Feb. 7th NY Times writes:
The two late-night rivals greeted each other warmly, Mr. Burnett said. “It was very friendly, very professional, totally cordial,” he said. “You could tell these were two guys who have known each other for a long time.”
My question for you today, dear reader, is who might you surprise? To whom might you be reconciled? Consider the joy you could experience, the lightness in your step, the lift to your spirit if you put aside long-ago hurts and offenses! You might not make the favorite 15 seconds of Super Bowl fame, but it will be a scene your heavenly Father will enjoy immensely. And the instant replay of your fence mending could replace that rut in your mind of your past pain. Give it a try. You'll be glad you did.
