Last year my television station launched a major multi-media promotional campaign for a contest called The Mayberry Code. (I blogged about receiving an Emmy nomination for the promo and I’ll find out if I won in two more weeks.) My totally original concept was to place Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show in the role of a detective trying to uncover a dark mysterious secret by means of decoding cryptic clues. Of course this is a spoof of the plot to The Da Vinci Code, but with the unique twist of adding Deputy Fife into the mix.
Yesterday I was astonished to discover that a short film was released with almost the exact same premise as The Mayberry Code! A film titled The Norman Rockwell Code [IMDB] is the story of Barney Fife’s son, a detective trying to uncover a dark mysterious secret by means of decoding cryptic clues. Sound familiar? Watch the trailer.
Spoofing The Da Vinci Code is not such a unique idea but what are the odds that two different parodies would each feature the same television character from over 40 years ago (or his son in this case)? We launched our on-air campaign in April of 2006. The Normal Rockwell Code was released a month later in May. However they began filming in February before we ever sent out our first press release. Purely an incredible coincidence. I guess great minds think alike.
Although there are a lot of similarities with the initial premises, both projects had significant differences too. We created promos only while they created a full 33-minute feature (complete with on-location production, a detailed plot, and extensive script.) We utilized actual footage from The Andy Griffith Show while they utilized real actors. We relied on tongue-in-cheek comedy while they used shtick routines. It’s really apples to oranges, especially considering their bizarre sea-related conspiracy plot line.
I watched the entire film online. The Normal Rockwell Code is pretty good. A funny movie, especially if you enjoy The Andy Griffith Show. And the production quality was pretty good too (if you ignore the lightstand and sandbag in the museum shots). Well done.
