Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s….ELV!
Yes, ELV. Strange visitor from another (gastronomic) planet who came to Earth with (tasting) powers and (eating) abilities far beyond those of mortal men. ELV — who can change the course of mighty rivers (of good wine by drinking them dry), bend steel (head salmon) in his bare hands, and who, disguised as John A. Curtas, a (not so) mild-mannered attorney for a great metropolitan law firm (Armstrong Teasdale), fights a never ending battle for Truth (in restaurant advertising), Justice (to all bad burgers) , and the American Way!
Those cruising down Las Vegas Boulevard South these days might be surprised to find the well-fed visage and stentorian chords of ELV accosting them from a Caesars Palace JumboTron. So jarring is it to some, that we thought an explanation was in order. So here is our first (and perhaps last) FAQ sheet for ELV:
> The commercial was filmed last summer at Bradley Ogden in Caesars Palace.
> It features the boffo bar burger at Ogden’s — an ethereal piece of ground beef that ELV introduced Alan Richman to last May.
> No money changed hands.
> ELV did get a free burger from the deal (actually, a couple, due to retakes).
> The opinions expressed therein were publicized long before anyone approached me or A. R. about using our devastatingly handsome faces as pitchmen for their product.
> Richman featured this burger in January’s GQ magazine as “The Best Burger I’ve Had All Year.”
> Despite how he may look in a couple of the snaps above, ELV didn’t and doesn’t feel like punching anyone when he describes how tasty the B.O. Bar Burger is.
> Marcella Ruth Schroader Curtas of Athens, Georgia (The Official Mother Of ELV), is bursting with pride now that her baby boy has shared a marquee with Cher, Bette Midler, and Elton John.
> The white suit was tailor-made for us in Hong Kong. Our waistline was custom-made by the chefs of Las Vegas.
Restaurant reviews, quips, picks and pans-with some seriously salivating history-from the man who eats his way through Sin City every day.
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:13 pm
The bigtime! Very cool.
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Wow. How cool is this! Your image comes alive on the Las Vegas Strip. You are now in the company of Frank, Dean, Sammy and Elvis!
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:01 pm
As the producer/writer/director of said spot, when Hollywood comes calling, I want a kick-back.
March 4th, 2009 at 5:36 am
Dear Mr. Curtas,
A correction, if you don’t mind.
You did not actually “introduce” me to the burger, although I will admit that I would not have known about it had you not written about it first. I believe that you might want to take credit for introducing me to Colonel Sanders’ Kentucky Fried Chicken, which is all I can think about when I see you in that white suit.
March 4th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Details…details….all ELV knows is that AR looks great munching on the BO Burger, whilst he looks like an angry, pudgy, Ricardo Montablan-wannabe.
March 4th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Hello. Great job. This is a great story. Thanks!
March 4th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
You made some good points there. I did a search on the topic and found most people will agree with your blog.
March 5th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
I nearly crashed my car – when I saw this. I knew there was a way to scare away the dudes with the escort flyers ..brilliant !