'Breaking Bad' pushes boundaries in billboard form

"Breaking Bad" has taken its dark humor to Times Square in a big way.

In a brilliant promotional move as Season 3 of the AMC drama premieres March 21, the network mounted a billboard next to one of President Barack Obama that had generated some minor controversy these past few weeks.

Long story short, Weatherproof outerwear purchased the rights to an Associated Press photo of Obama wearing its jacket in front of the Great Wall of China. They put up the billboard with a campaign tag line of "A Leader in Style" -- prompting a White House lawyer to contact the company and demand they take the billboard down (which has yet to happen.)

AMC struck fast with its own billboard, this one with Bryan Cranston as unlikely meth kingpin Walter White sporting a gas mask on his head. The word "Weatherproof" is replaced with "You Got No Proof" and instead of "A Leader in Style," the "Bad" billboard boldly declares: "A Dealer in Style."

"We saw that first billboard, and we thought, wouldn't it be great if we were the ones to replace it?" AMC president Charlie Collier told the Associated Press.

Having the audacity to place one of TV's most notorious drug dealers next to the Prez? Now you know why "Breaking Bad" is one of the brassiest shows ever aired.



-- Thomas Rozwadowski, trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.com