In Sonic's Latest Spot, You Can Really Taste the Absurdity

From Righteous Gemstones director Jody Hill

A commercial with some dude in a powdered wig, plus a screaming bald eagle and town-square destruction? That sounds great. Right?

You be the judge, as Sonic stages a faux-patriotic celebration of the the drive-in chain’s Double Smasher cheeseburger:

Pleasantly stupid stuff. We’ll have what George Washington’s having.

Mitch Eakins returns as the “Live Free, Eat Sonic” pitchman, striking just the right assertively absurd tone. Quaffed like it’s 1776, he’s much goofier this time—and that’s a good thing. Big props for letting our nation’s official bird of prey land on his arm. Suck it, AI!

“The live eagles performed well in rehearsal but when it came time to roll camera, the first eagle seemed to lose his motivation and he flew off to a nearby lamppost to chill,” says Galen Graham, creative director at Mother L.A., which helped develop the campaign.

“Luckily, his understudy stepped in and flew through the role without a hitch,” Graham recalls. “When the eagles were first introduced on set, the alert went out among the animal residents of our location, and we saw many birds evacuate the area. We also didn’t see a squirrel for the next two hours.”

Hollywood A-lister Jody Hill directed through Caviar with a self-aware, punchy style.

Turns out the team had a smashing time filming on that backlot, literally.

“In the opening scene, Eakins snatches a subpar burger from someone and whips it offscreen,” Graham tells Muse. “In the first take, he grabbed it and chucked it—and we heard glass break. We thought someone had pranked us by adding in a comedic glass-breaking sound.”

“But lo and behold, he knocked out a glass pane in a real street lamp. We all got a kick out of that.”