Arby's Touches On Years Of 'Daily Show' Insults By Creating Ad For Jon Stewart: 'Not Sure Why, But We'll Miss You'
NEW YORK (CBSLA.com/AP) — As fans lamentably await Jon Stewart's final appearance as host of "The Daily Show," the fast-food chain Stewart often ridiculed on the show has prepared a hilarious send-off.
Arby's bought ad spots for Thursday night's episode and will air videos that mock the disgust Stewart has openly shared about the chain's low-budget, meat-centered offerings.
One ad shows a montage of the host's most emphatic Arby's insults over the years, played to the "Golden Girls" theme song "Thank You for Being a Friend." At the end of the clip, in typical red Arby's font, they write: "Not Sure Why, But We'll Miss You."
On Facebook, Arby's posted a jif of Stewart gagging from one of those Arby's segments and captioned it: "Sometimes Jon's jokes about us were hard to digest, but we kept watching The Daily Show anyway. #JonVoyage"
Stewart bids fans farewell on Thursday, after 16 years on Comedy Central's hit show, that established him as America's foremost satirist of politicians and the media.
The 52-year-old announced last winter that he was getting restless and it was time to move on. Trevor Noah replaces him as host next month.
Armed with a razor-sharp wit and research team adept at finding video evidence of hypocrisy or unintentional comedy among the nation's establishment, Stewart turned a sleepy basic-cable entertainment show into a powerful cultural platform. He turned the spotlight on himself during his penultimate show Wednesday, noting how institutions he had supposedly eviscerated were stronger than ever.
"The world is demonstrably worse than when I started," Stewart wailed. "Have I caused this?"
His only solace was that his beloved New York Mets were in first place on the day of his last show.
Fellow comic Louis C.K., his guest Wednesday, noted that Stewart was able to keep his show fresh and funny for a long time, keeping up with the world's changes. "It really is one of the great comedy accomplishments of all time," he said.
Stewart's fans will be forced to navigate the first presidential election since 1996 without his commentary, a loss that felt particularly acute with the first Republican candidates' debate taking place less than three hours after the taping of his final show. "The Daily Show" airs at 11 p.m. EDT.
It's the third major farewell for a late-night television personality in eight months. Stewart's Comedy Central colleague, Stephen Colbert, ended "The Colbert Report" in December. David Letterman signed off from CBS in May, to be replaced this fall by Colbert.
Comedy Central put out the word that Stewart's final show will run longer than the typical half hour, so people recording it on their DVRs won't be unpleasantly surprised.
Fox News Channel chairman Roger Ailes, whose network remained intact despite Stewart's "pulverizing" blows, said that Stewart was a brilliant comedian and nice guy who has a bitter view of the world.
"He's been after us for years," Ailes told The Hollywood Reporter. "Occasionally we pay attention. We think he's funny. We never took it seriously and he never made a dent in us."
With thousands of words in tributes being written on his behalf the past few weeks, Stewart hasn't granted exit interviews. He showed up for a podcast done by his show's executive producers, spending most of the half hour talking about the menus for catered meals at the office — including a lengthy discussion of whether egg sandwiches were better on English muffins or Kaiser rolls.
"We worked awfully hard and not every show has been up to snuff," Stewart said Wednesday. "But we've given it our all every single time."
The show's set will be donated to the Newseum in Washington, D.C. after Stewart's final episode.
Newseum spokesman Jonathan Thompson said in a news release that the museum will acquire the set, including the desk, globe and props, and will be part of their collection for future display.
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