Photo of Samantha Bee by Peter Yang/TBS
As Turner Broadcasting made its annual pitch to advertisers during Wednesday's upfront presentations in New York, Samantha Bee made a unique proposal, asking for media dollars to co-sponsor this summer's Republican National Convention."
The host of TBS's late-night show Full Frontal, Bee acknowledged her request is a bit unusual compared to the typical presentations at the upfronts, where thousands of media buyers and advertisers peek at various networks' fall lineup to decide where to spend their money.
"If there is one thing that this peyote hallucination of an election has taught us, it is that absolutely anything can happen," she said, offering to explain her reasoning in the midst of an unpredictable and strange presidential election. "So now I’m going to say something that no one has ever said before: I am dying to go to Cleveland... here is where I make my specific appeal to you, the lovely, intelligent, sexually appealing people holding the money. For only $100,000 I can become an actual sponsor of the Republican Convention, and get banner space on the convention floor. I want this."
While the seriousness of Bee's offer might be worth questioning, she made a brilliant case for the return on investment, holding up mock images of potential ads: "My giant face looming over the convention in every CNN wide shot for a week? Please picture it. I will incorporate your brand right onto my poster on the RNC convention floor ... The entire world will be watching Cleveland. I know you think I’m joking, but I am not. We are going to talk at the cocktail party after."
Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump, whose public image is largely the result of his reality television history, has promised this year's RNC will be heavy on entertainment value and have more of a "show business" feel.
Should Bee make it to the convention, it wouldn't be her first visit. Having previously served as a correspondent for The Daily Show, she reported from the 2012 RNC in which Mitt Romney accepted the Republican nomination.
The Republican National Convention is set for July 18-21, 2016 at Cleveland's Quiken Loans Arena. Fingers crossed Samantha Bee will be there, hovering over the spectacle and serving as another reminder of how outrageous this election has been.