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“They weren’t offended. They hired me.” Ana Gasteyer Tweets her way to Weight Watchers ad campaign

Social media allows comedians to share idle thoughts, observations and wisecracks with the world immediately, instead of writing them down in a notebook to dig up later onstage.

Flight delays and other airport mishaps. Down time between takes on set. The oddities of hotel room service. Food courts. Jury duty. It’s all fodder for comedy. Often, the comedian looks to Twitter to make light of the situation; sometimes, to curry favor with a company that’s done them wrong; rarely, to compliment a company without compensation. Even rarer is the case where a performer Tweets first, becomes a company’s spokesperson later.

That’s exactly what happened last week for Suburgatory actress and former SNL star Ana Gasteyer, who’s now appearing in TV ads for Weight Watchers.

Gasteyer already loved Weight Watchers so much she had been providing her Twitter followers with updates on her diet @AnaGasteyer, blasting out queries to the company earlier this year such as:

ana-gasteyer-tweet-weightwatchers

She previously had asked rhetorically via Twitter: “Hey @WeightWatchers: how many #activitypoints for wrestling a cat into a carrier? About 23 min/very sweaty. Pls note w/without swearing Thx” — or this: “Hey @WeightWatchers how many #activitypoints for re-threading string thru the waistband of my gym shorts? Came out in dryer so can’t workout.”

Eventually Weight Watchers answered and then some, asking Gasteyer to appear on camera as a spokeswoman. This New York Times story details that conversation.

As she Tweeted on March 28: “BREAKING: Unseemly @weightwatchers obsession becomes fun job.”

Gasteyer even pitched in to her TV pitch by helping revise the lyrics of “Fever” for this “Sleveless” ad.

And here’s a second one.

Joking aside, here is how Gasteyer explains that process, as well as her own desire to lose weight in an industry and society that puts additional pressure on women and actresses to do so. Roll the clip.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

View all posts by Sean L. McCarthy →

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