Entertainment marketing has gotten to the point where it’s often unclear whether advertisements are legitimately selling a product or if they’re legitimately showing off a fake product in order to get people interested in the real product. Or something. In the case of the Better Call Saul billboard seen above, it was neither, and is actually just a prop used during an episode's filming. Still, the Albuquerque-set series is getting quite a bit of attention for it all over the Internet, so it worked!
The odd thing is, it isn’t even Saul Goodman that people are interested in calling here. As revealed a couple of weeks ago by series creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, the southwestern criminal world’s go-to lawyer is going by the name Jimmy M. McGill when Better Call Saul begins its story. It's six years before Saul meets Breaking Bad’s Walter White, and gone is the sweaty comb over, replaced by a poofy head of healthy grey hair. It’s even different from the series’ first released images. Take a straighter look at the billboard below.
That image comes from Vulture, which also posted a recording of the message that plays whenever you call the number on the billboard. I love it when shows and movies do stuff like this. It’s super cheap to open up a phone line, and it’s a semi-personal way to connect with potential fans. Go ahead and try the number at your own volition. If you get a busy signal, though, just hit play below.
As McGill, Bob Odenkirk will play a small-timer looking to fulfill a personal destiny, all while busting his ass to pay the bills. He’ll be joined by Breaking Bad co-star Jonathan Banks as muscle man Mike Erhmantraut, as well as Michael McKean’s rival lawyer Chuck. Other co-stars include Rhea Seehorn, Patrick Fabian and Michael Mando. The word is still out on whether or not any more Breaking Bad characters will be returning, but everyone is anxious to see more of Walt and Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman. We need it, bitch!
I guess we can count on that like we can count on a check in the mail, right?
Pushed back from its original 2014 premiere window, Better Call Saul will defend its honor when it hits AMC in 2015.
