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Thursday, November 27, 2008
11/27: You’ve been Rick Rolled at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
During the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Thursday, Atlanta-based Cartoon Network threw out the most random pop culture cameo.
On the float for its show “Foster’s Home For Imaginery Friends,” the characters started singing the theme song to “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father” called “Best Friend” but were suddenly interrupted by an appearance by 1980s pop singer Rick Astley, who began lip-syncing his biggest hit “Never Gonna Give You Up.” (All the singers lip-sync at the parade.)
After his brief performance, one of the characters Cheese shouted, “I love Rick Rolling!”
This YouTube video only captures part of it but it gives you a sense on what Astley looks like now, 20 years later:
Indeed, “Rick Rolling” over the past year has become a Web phenomenon: when someone thinks they’re going to a particular Web link, they get sent to the Astley music video instead.
“Our marketing group came up with it,” Cartoon Network spokesman Joe Swaney told me on Thanksgiving. “The Rick Astley song is about friendship, which fit with our characters. We asked if he was available. He liked the idea. We flew him in from England.”
Swaney admits that a good portion of the viewers probably had no idea why Astley was there, but “We figured, let’s let it play out. If anybody picks up on it, that’s great. Besides, there are always celebrities singing on floats. I think it’s hilarious.”
Here’s the Rick Astley video that started it all and now has 12 million-plus page views.
