What is just about as surprising is that the Terminator 2 Dtv commercial also had a dead guy in it. That's right the guy in the piloting the helicopter (not the Terminator) has actually passed on. So it's not the first time this has happened.

as long as the o'rourke family is compensated, not some asshole pos in hollywood.

It's a little creepy.

I think it is a very cool series of ads, though.

lame, boring and cliched.

Krusty said it best (11 years ago)-

Krusty: So I'm watching TV today... And all I keep seeing is dead celebrities hawking products! You've got poor old Vincent Price floating around in a toilet keg telling me about the of an unfresh bowl!

I agree pretty tasteless. I'm guessing Craig T Nelson, is hurting for cash.
Pathetic.

poltergeist just arrived in the mail today. netflix ftw.

What? They are a classic scene from a classic movie. It has nothing to do with the actress being dead. It's part of a series of ads depicting classic movies. So should TV networks stop showing Poltergeist altogether? Get over yourselves. Stop looking for controversy where there is none.

Glad I'm not the only one who was a bit taken aback by this ad. I don't begrudge Nelson the dough but couldn't they have figured out a way to not use the dead little girl?

i thought you didn't believe in hell?

comments are disappearing! we must be near halloween.

I do like the DirecTV ads but this one is just in poor taste. I do agree with Gajonka though, If the O’Rourke family gave there approval and they have been compensated, there's no issue.

I don't see anything wrong with the ad. I think sometimes people need to stop being so sensitive.

I totally agree with Byronimation on this one: Why don't you freak out whenever a network broadcasts any of the Poltergeist films in their entirety with an equally "preserved" Heather O'Rourke? She was in those movies, and regardless of whether she is here today or not doesn't change the pop culture association that was created over two decades ago. If Sigourney Weaver keeled over tomorrow would you be chastising DirecTV over the "Aliens" spoof they did? I love those films, and Ms. Weaver as an actress, and if she'd had a problem, we'd know about it. In fact, unless anyone has a copy of the late Miss O'Rourke's contract with the studio or any legal agreement made to her family over using her likeness, you should find other valid things to whine about. I'm a liberal, but get over the PC insanity, please.

meh.

@ Stop Being So Sensitive

I'm not offended by the ad, but it's simply (hilariously and clearly) in poor taste to use old footage of a child actress who famously died young in this role in an ad where another actor reprises his role to casually talk about being "haunted" as spirits effing run through her. Lol.

It's not the same as watching the movie. The movie is not selling consumers a product. If they made a new Poltergeist movie and tried to flawlessly insert old footage of Heather O'Rourke into "new scenes" the same observations of bad taste would be made, and rightly so.

If this was a commercial with Heath Ledger "brought back" as the Joker to sell Snickers bars, some of you guys complaining about this post would probably become terrorists.

while i can see your point to an extent, but heather o'rourke died after the third movie, almost six years later. i would be more offended if they used footage of dominique donne, who was killed by her boyfriend shortly before the first film's release.

Don't be so sensitive. The ad is funny.

Yeah who cares, it's recreating a scene from a classic film which is timeless to talk about crappy satelite TV. Big deal.

Should we be pissed off that they keep using the Orville Reddenbacher guy in the new ads too?!

I agree with Byronimation also.

Is showing the movie any less commercial than an advertisement?

It is a strange distinction.

If Hunter hadn't brought it up, I honestly never would have thought about it.

Loosen up people, I saw this commercial and it didn't even cross my mind that she was dead because it was a character she was playing. Same as every dead actor ever in anything, I don't think hey they're dead, I think hey this is a great movie or tv show or commercial, I hope somebody cares about me so much after I'm dead. Plus Craig T. Nelson was great in Coach.

Best Show 4 Life!

Who cares people die and if it was there job to be in movies then they are remembered in some way, it was a funny tv add. I guess you guys think dead people are in bad taste. Hey did you know Heath Ledger is dead ?

Wow... pretty surprising. I would have thought more people would have seen the distinction between showing an old movie on TV, and editing dead actors in scenes from an old movie into commercials to sell stuff. And, Craig T. Nelson even says, "that's gonna come back to haunt me," while the ghost of the child actress is standing there. Bravo.

I would think that out of respect for Heather O'Rourke, they would pick some different old movie to re-edit into spots for their dishes. Wendy's stopped using Dave Thomas when he passed away. I believe at the time of his murder Phil Hartman was starring in a series of McDonald's ads, which they pulled.

And, to the earlier poster, yes, people were outraged over the Orville Reddenbacher spots where they tried to re-animate him using some creepy-looking CGI. And, those got pulled as a result.

I'm more creeped out that they got Craig T Nelson to look like he did back then. The guy is 62 years old. Putting a fake hairline in is one thing, shrinking down his head and torso is another.

I'm more creeped out that they got Craig T Nelson to look like he did back then. The guy is 62 years old. Putting a fake hairline in is one thing, shrinking down his head and torso is another.

I am wondering why so much attention is paid to this sorry matter when Congress just spent $700B on bailing out Democrat Sponsored Entites (governmnet sponsored entities - GSEs). Get a grip and figure out what is truly of concern. Your money is being spent by a group of self-absorbed losers in Congress and this is what you are discussing????? Wow.

If the family is allowing this, they should get their heads examined. This is disrespectful-period. It has nothing to do with being PC, liberal or any other kind of BS. It's about exploiting the memory of someone who has nothing to say about how their image is used for $$. That is wrong, wrong, wrong.

@ Reggie

What is a "Congress"?

@Reggie

Companies on Wall Street are going to reject the bailout, anyway. The money comes with too many conditions.

So, no point in getting worked up about that, since we're all screwed, anyway. In a short while, our wages will quite possibly be down, prices of everything will be higher, and we'll look longingly back on the time when we debated a deceased child actress in a commercial as "the good old days."

they do,in respect,pull commercials if the spokesperson has died..like they did when lou rawls died..but on the other hand if it's a t.v. show they'l still run it like the bernie mac show so..im not sure how they decide what to pull.as for the poltergeist commercial,they probably could have went witha different scene.like maybe one with her in the t.v. or something.truthfuly,i wouldnt mind seeing one with the ghostbusters!

Hey guys, I produced this piece and I’m not sure what all the fuss is about.

It’s common knowledge that you cannot use someone’s likeness in any kind of TV production until you get their permission and in this case, permission was granted by Heather’s Mother, Kathleen.

Before we went forward with production on the spot, we ran the idea by Kathleen and secured her approval.  Not only did she approve the concept, when she saw the finished product she commented that she was very happy with it and thought it was a wonderful tribute to her daughter.

Chris, Deutsch

Chis- Was Kathleen compensated for the use of her daughter's image? I can't imagine anyone thinking that a commercial would be a "wonderful tribute" to a daughter that tragically died young - this wasn't exactly an A&E "Biography" of Heather O'Rourke! She was a stage mother to both of her kids, and worked to get them cast in commercials when they were young, but they were being paid for the work! (For the record, I agree with poster who said that re-airing the films and cutting them down and digitally changing them for an advertisement are very different things! Of course the films should be re-played! People enjoying the life's work of people who were in the entertainment industry is a fitting tribute to them. Besides, "moving pictures" have been around long enough that there is a huge body of work that still holds up today - a lot of classic fims - in which everyone involved has passed on (should every Paul Newman film be pulled now - I don't think anyone would think so!).

However, the issue of whether or not companies should profit from the images and words of deceased persons, especially those who died untimely deaths has been coming up a lot again recently (I remember years ago being outraged when Mercedes used Janis Joplin's "Mercedes Benz" song in one of their ads! I still think this is a really horrible practice that ad agencies should do all they can to steer away from! If a client is dead-set (no pun intended) on using dead people's images this way, then agencies should advise them that there will probably be a backlash and at suggest that that not only should the person's estate be compensated, but there should be some fine print over the commercial (or below the ad) stating such (another thing that really got me about the Direct-TV ad was the small print saying something along the lines of - This is a scene from Poltergeist. It is not meant to depict real events. - Ummmm, duh!

The other commercial that has bothered me for the same reason lately, is the American Express ad with Jim Henson (as well as flashes of some other, gone-before-their-time people). At first I thought it must be some kind of digital manipulation that "brought him back to life" until I realized that he obviously filmed the commercial back when he was alive. Still, I found it in poor taste, and really unnecessary as AmEx has had a perfectly good if not great) "Cardmembers" campaign already - using living legends. Of course, Jim Henson was compensated for his endorsement when he first appeared in the ad (and he probably did more than just appear in it, as it also includes the Muppets, who he probably "directed"). I'm sure his contract with AmEx didn't say anything about not re-aring the commercial in the event I die young - but that doesn't mean that AmEx had to pull it out the vault (it was also a blatant rip-off of the classic Apple "Think Different" campaign (which is the only commercial of this sort that might actually fall into the "wonderful tribute" category)!

The only commercial that I can think of that features a dead celebrity which I would fully approve of is Yul Brenner's anti-smoking message that he filmed right before dying of lung cancer. Of course that was a public service announcement and wasn't an advertisement - if anything it was the opposite of a commercial!

Oh and one more thing, Chris - if you got Craig T. Nelson to sponsor DirectTV, don't you think that Creative could have come up with something from "Coach"? Sports Coverage/TV/Direct TV... do you see where I'm going with this? Was dredging up Poltergeist suppose to be related to the "Halloween Season"? Wouldn't Coach missing a sporting event because he didn't have DirectTV make more sense??

[Make that two things] Was Stephen Spielberg compensated?

ohsofine-you are right on with your comment.
Yes, tell us, Chris, is this young lady's mother getting any compensation for allowing the use of her dead daughter's image?
I am a mom, and I can assure you, if any of my children predeceased me, I would be hard pressed to allow moving images used in such a disrespectful way.
A fitting tribute? C'mon now!

It's a good "idea" for an ad but it's in very poor taste to use Heather O'Rourke image. the girl did not die of natural causes at age 75. she died a child and they simply should have used "actors" to portray the father and the daughter. Have a little blone-haired 6-year old saying "They're HEEEERE" and "actor" dad waking up saying "No, theyre not , we have cable" and I'm fine with it. But the way they have it now shows little respect for the dead.

I think this TV ad is exceptionally tasteless. Poor little Heather died so unexpectedly at such a young age. Why would Direct TV need to exploit her with this ad? For those of us who have lost a loved one at a young age, no amount of compensation can make up for the loss of someone. Even if the family was compensated, I think it's a demented idea.

This tv ad is horrible!

Shame on the family if they did give the rights and permission for this ad!

Shame on Nelson for being a part of this tasteless scheme for cash.

Shame on Direct TV!

I urge everyone to call Direct TV and insist they pull this nightmare they call advertising! It isn't working! The LAST thing I want right now is Direct TV!

Call them and ask for the President or VP, C O M P L A I N and they will remove the ad! (310) 535 - 5000

Oh, come on now-this talk of boycotts and calling campaigns is silly.

I run a fan web site dedicated to all three "Poltergeist" movies, and I think the ad was a great idea. Besides, it focuses more on Craig T. Nelson than on Heather. It would be different if they had featured Heather as Carol Anne talking about how the "Poltergeist Curse" could have been avoided and that she'd still be alive if only the Freelings had been Direct TV subscribers, but that's not what was done.

Also, Heather was about six when she filmed "Poltergeist," and didn't pass away until after she'd completed "Poltergeist III" in 1988 at the age of 12. The makers of that one had to be much more careful with they released that film with how it was marketed. In fact, after she died but before the film was released, MGM decided to re-shoot the ending using a body double stand in for Heather, filmed from the back.

You can read more on that little controversy here:

http://www.poltergeistIII.com/gorezone.html

OMG, I just can't believe the ruckus over all this. This is not a serious issue, folks. Heather passed away, her mother has the rights over her daughter's image and has evidently given her blessing for the commercial. I found it humorous and it also has compelled me to check out Poltergeist again since it's been many years since I've seen it. Sounds like a win-win to me, and those who are soooooooooo sensitive over the DirecTV commercial...PUHLEEZE, get a life.

Yeah, God knows we don't ever want to be sensitive to respecting someone selling their dead daughter's image. Are you a parent, Wayne? It's a freakish thing to do-not negotiable...my child's image would not be negotiable. Any images of my child in such a situation would not be for sale. It's pathetic-and what's more pathetic are the people telling those who say it's wrong to get a life.No wonder the world is what it is.

There are alot of dead people on TV everyday. Their image is an inherent part of their profession. As long as the family was consulted and compensated accordingly I think this is a very funny nod to a classic film.

I know people are down these days but folks really need to get over this sensitivity trip. The world is tough... we're blessed and the things we cry about are a joke compared to the issues faced by other people in the world.

It was definitely in bad taste. They could have used some other horror movie for the Halloween season. Or if they had to use 'Poltergeist', they could have used a scene that wasn't so 'Heather-dominant'. For instance, show the family from the end of the movie lumbering into their motel room. Then the TV gets put oustside. Then you pan to the motel sign and it says (in flickering neon) "No DirecTV". Then you pan back to the door, and Craig Nelson comes out and says to the camera, "So, what do you expect us to do - watch cable?" The voice over begins as Nelson shakes his head no, and he walks back in the room. Then we see a head-on shot of the door closing, as the text graphics fill the screen, and the door shot blurs into the background.

I just now saw this ad for the first time and it bothered me too. Exploiting a dead child definitely is not classy. I figured others would be bothered also, so I did a search for "directv poltergeist" and it brought me here.