Ryan Reynolds Makes Most Of Pooh Bear’s Public Domain Status In Mobile Plan Ad

On January 1 this year, creative works including A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh entered the public domain, allowing anyone—including Ryan Reynolds—to use and build upon them for free. Naturally, the advertising world’s most prominent newcomer put this transformation to good use by introducing his version of the eponymous character: ‘Winnie-the-Screwed’.

Fronting the new Mint Mobile campaign, Winnie-the-Screwed is vexed over his “Big Wireless Bill” as it eats deep into his precious honey money pot.

Reynolds, whose Deadpool franchise now falls under the Disney umbrella, said he “took some creative liberties” in his humorous remix, “but it sticks pretty close to the source material.” Most evidently, he replaced “honey” with “money” and threw Mint Mobile into the mix.  

The advertisement ends with a message to Christopher Robin and other humans detailing that “anyone can get three free months of Mint Mobile now until Friday at midnight.”

“I expect that we’ll be hearing from a certain mouse, about this Pooh very, very soon,” the actor and adman declared.

Reynolds is the co-founder of Maximum Effort Productions, a digital marketing agency and film production firm. In June 2021, the company was acquired by MNTN, with Reynolds taking over as MNTN’s chief creative officer.

Although the Mint Mobile spot noticeably appropriates Winnie-the-Pooh, Christopher Robin, Owl, and Rabbit, it intentionally excludes Tigger, who was only introduced in 1928. That’s because only works belonging to author A. A. Milne from 1926 and earlier are kosher. Anything after that, including Disney’s version of Winnie-the-Pooh, is not in the public domain.

[via Ryan Reynolds and ET Canada]