Newsletter
Events
SNL's Kenan Thompson Explores a Futuristic Frontier for Autotrader
He chats with Muse about finding laughs that might not be on the page
Kenan Thompson has become a mainstay of Autotrader’s advertising. Last year, he took on the role of a TV detective in spots for the online automobile marketplace. A new round of commercials released today finds Saturday Night Live’s longest-tenured cast member running a high-tech Autotrader command center. He looks very much like a starship captain in that role.
The flight features :30, :15 and 6-second spots promoting the brand’s “Auto Intelligence” technology, which offers a suite of tools designed to facilitate a seamless, personalized car-shopping experience.
Here, the actor, who co-founded the Artists for Artists production company last year, talks about why his partnership with Autotrader works so well.
MUSE: You’ve been appearing in Autotrader spots for four or five years now, right?
Kenan Thompson: Something like that. I know this is our third round of creativity. The first couple ran for a long time, which is great. And hopefully, that’ll continue to be the pattern. I’ve been getting a whole lot of, “Hey, I just saw your commercial.” So, we’re out there, baby. We’re representing.
I assume you get a lot of requests to do ads. Why did you team up with Autotrader?
I don’t know if I’m necessarily getting my door knocked down. You take the ones that come your way that make sense. And, luckily, the handful that have come my way all seemed to make sense to me.
I have always had an affinity toward cars. I remember wanting to buy my first car, not knowing what to do, where to go, feeling overwhelmed with the whole experience. So, when Autotrader came calling, I was like, “Yes.” I’ve always been a fan of how cool their whole thing was in the first place. It was a no-brainer for me to get involved.
How involved are you in the creative process?
I’m as involved as they will allow without me being an annoying actor making requests. It’s usually a nice back-and-forth of what kind of messaging they want to focus on and how can we have fun bringing that to life.
This time around, the work was focused on the Auto Intelligence part of Autotrader, where it’s bringing all of their different tools together in one place. Auto Intelligence sounds futuristic, so bringing it into a command center, making it spaceship-y, that’s where it starts to steer the creative.
So, those initial conversations were happening. And then they storyboarded. And they’re like, “This is the kind of concept we’re thinking about.” And I have the freedom to say yay or nay or offer my two cents.
But the Autotrader team and the marketing team, they know what they’re talking about. So, I don’t necessarily have to buck the system too much. I can kind of save it for my performances. On each take, I’m always looking for a laugh that might not be on the page.
It looks like you’re standing on the bridge of a spaceship in the new spot. Was that a set, or did they use green screen and create it digitally?
They built a full thing. It was amazing. So, shout out to the crew on that one. They put in a lot of woodwork and actually built this whole kind of spaceship. What do they call it? The cockpit? There’s a big, giant captain’s chair for me to sit in and bark my orders at people. It just feels like a superhero hangout, basically. So, yeah, they built a real set.
I recently interviewed Mike Diva about directing shorts for SNL, including commercial parodies, and I was thinking how you cast members who do real commercials must be great to work with. Not only for your acting ability, but for your ability to do something creative in a short amount of time.
SNL is probably the greatest training for just being quick on your feet, just from being around people who are so quick on theirs, just being around the Tina Feys and the Cecily Strongs or Jimmy Fallons or Egos [Ego Nwodim], or just fantastic improv people like Leslie Jones who can say the craziest, funniest thing in the blink of an eye. Being around those kinds of people will naturally make you step up. Or it will show you the way out the door. So yeah, I’ve definitely learned a lot just from proximity for sure.
Uh, I’m sure lots of people have learned from watching you work! Is the upcoming season of SNL going to be your 23rd season, or 24th?
It will be my 23rd. Fingers crossed.
So many creative people would love to have a fulfilling job that lasts even a few years. But these opportunities are fewer and fewer. Can you talk about the benefits of being able to do something like SNL for such a long time?
What you just said is part of it. The blessing of being able to hold a steady gig in entertainment is rare. Very, very rare. I was always aware of that. And any opportunity I got where I was asked back, I always obliged because it is a blessing to be asked in the first place. And it’s not like the job sucks. It’s an awesome job. So, yeah, it’s not lost on me that it’s a very special thing that I’ve been able to do there. It’s a very special place to be part of.
The 2025 Clio Entertainment Awards are open! Enter your most creative work HERE by Aug. 8.
