'Today' Hosts Mock ObamaCare Ads That 'A Lot of People Are Offended By'
Early in the 9 a.m. ET hour on Wednesday's NBC Today, co-hosts Willie Geist, Natalie Morales, and Al Roker mocked a series of new ads designed to promote ObamaCare, even with Geist reading one of them while doing his best impression of Anchorman's Ron Burgundy: "Let's get physical. OMG, he's hot. Let's hope he's as easy to get as this birth control. My health insurance covers the pill, which means all I have to worry about is getting it between the covers." [Listen to the audio]
Wrapping up the discussion, Geist declared: "A lot of people are offended by this for obvious reasons." Morales chimed in: "Yes, you think?" Roker derided the defense of the racy ads: "I love this, 'It'll only be on social media, not billboards or buses.' Oh, that's okay then." Morales sarcastically added: "That makes it better. Because social media is not everywhere these days, right?"
Here is a full transcript of the November 13 segment:
9:06AM ET
WILLIE GEIST: Speaking of the health care law, a new series of online ads featuring Ryan Gossling prompting some discussion – yes, Ryan Gossling. The "Got Insurance?"-
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Hey Girl; ObamaCare Ads Cause Controversy in Colorado]
NATALIE MORALES: I don't think he knows about this, though, by the way.
[IMAGE OF AD ON SCREEN]
GEIST: No. No, no. That's a Photoshop job.
MORALES: That's like a cut-out of Ryan Gossling.
GEIST: It is. "Got Insurance?," a play of course on the "Got Milk?" ads, unveiled yesterday by supporters of Colorado's health insurance exchange. One of the ads reads "Hey girl, you're excited about easy access to birth control and I'm excited about getting to know you."
MORALES: Can you say it like you mean it?
GEIST: "She got insurance. Now you can too. Thanks ObamaCare."
AL ROKER: Read it-
MORALES: Say it like you mean it, come on.
ROKER: Try it again as Ron Burgundy
GEIST: Ron Burgundy.
MORALES: Yeah, go back. Well, you can read the second ad.
GEIST: Here's – alright, let's do the second ad.
MORALES: Second ad.
GEIST [IN RON BURGUNDY VOICE]: "Let's get physical. OMG, he's hot. Let's hope he's as easy to get as this birth control. My health insurance covers the pill, which means all I have to worry about is getting it between the covers. "
ROKER: Much better.
GEIST: Thank you. Thank you very much.
MORALES: All you needed was the burgundy blazer.
GEIST: Summer Stock, years of Summer Stock.
ROKER: Can you do an imitation of Ryan Gossling's lawyer?
[LAUGHTER]
GEIST: That's already happened, I have a sense.
MORALES: You know, sex sells. And I guess that's what they're – if only they could get the website to work, though.
GEIST: I guess so. Traffic to the website that features the ads, it exploded yesterday. The site went down.
ROKER: Literally exploded.
GEIST: Yes.
MORALES: There you go, it's working.
GEIST: So they say they need to reach 20-something women. They hope this round of ads will do it. A lot of people are offended by this for obvious reasons.
MORALES: Yes, you think?
ROKER: I love this, "It'll only be on social media, not billboards or buses." Oh, that's okay then.
GEIST: Good.
MORALES: That makes it better.
GEIST: That makes it better.
MORALES: Because social media is not everywhere these days, right? Oh, my gosh, wow.
— Kyle Drennen is Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Kyle Drennen on Twitter.
