The Commercials

Before the movies, before Saturday mornings, there were the commercials — hundreds of them. This is where Ernest was born.

How it started

In 1980, Nashville ad agency Carden & Cherry — and adman John Cherry — needed a hook for a local client. The idea: a pushy, overfamiliar neighbor who talks straight into the camera at his never-seen pal Vern, the audience standing in for Vern’s point of view. Cast a wildly expressive actor named Jim Varney under the cap, and Ernest P. Worrell was born.

A regional juggernaut

The formula was endlessly repeatable, so Ernest pitched everything — dairies, car dealers, amusement parks, banks, soft drinks — with the client’s name dropped in for each local market. Over the decade, Varney shot thousands of spots that aired in markets all across the country. People didn’t always know the products, but they sure knew the guy yelling “Hey, Vern!”

From the break to the big time

That grassroots, market-by-market fame is what made Ernest a household name — and what carried him to feature films and his own TV show. It’s one of advertising’s great success stories: a local commercial character who became a movie star.

“Hey, Vern! KnoWhutIMean?”

Many classic Ernest commercials live on through fans and archives online — a search for “Ernest P. Worrell commercials” will turn up a goldmine of vintage spots.