Talk about fearless.
Martha Stewart didn’t become a household name by playing it safe. Her business empire extends from her famously perfectionist cooking and home decor efforts to media, merchandising and publishing. Following indictments on insider trading charges in 2004 and subsequent jail time served in 2005, she reportedly rebuilt her brand to profitability by 2006. Today, she’s as bold and busy as ever, launching a home meal kit service in 2018 and signing on as an advisor to a Canadian cannabis company this past February, among numerous other pursuits.
But it’s the latest commercial for her new cooking show — “Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Party Challenge” — that takes her boldness to new, hilarious heights.
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The spot spoofs a well-known scene from the blockbuster 1997 film “Titanic.” As Celine Dion’s near-inescapable hit “My Heart Will Go On” blares in the background, Stewart and co-host Snoop Dogg reenact the moment when Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jack Dawson meets with Kate Winslet’s Rose DeWitt Bukater on the bow of the ill-fated ship. Dawson’s gasped delivery of “I’m flying, Jack!” in the original scene is downright iconic.
Here, they replaced “flying” with “frying” — and thus, an inspired ad was born.
The video may as well have had “viral” written all over it. People couldn’t help but share it on social media, with online news outlets and daytime television shows quickly following suit. Within just a few days of publication, it had garnered over 150,000 views.
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Not every fearless senior entrepreneur will be partnering with an equally audacious, aging rap star to parody an epic Oscar-winning movie. But Stewart’s boundless creativity is, all the same, something we’d like to see more of — literally.
So we’ll seize this moment to remind our readers to apply for spots on our Fearless #Over50 list.
Before end-of-day Sunday, April 21, we want to hear from women business owners who — like Martha Stewart — are turning age on its head and hitting new entrepreneurial heights, post 50 years old. Women who thrived for years as an employee before becoming an employer. Women who have applied decades of leadership, teamwork, organizing and networking experiences as they grow their own businesses. Women who explored new passions and purposes with their new chapters in life.
We’re not sure deep-frying with Snoop Dogg will be in all of their futures, but we do know our Fearless #Over50 winners will inspire future generations of smart, daring women entrepreneurs.
[Related: The World Needs Fearless Women Leaders (Like Martha Stewart)]