Welcome to the Cracked newsletter!

This issue is about Ryan Gosling singing ‘Push,’ Fox’s ‘Simpsons’ tricks, ‘Futurama’ jokes, trivia, bad TV shows, and much more.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

We’re having our first live stand-up show at The Sultan Room on 7/31! Buy your ticket here.

How ‘Barbie’ Skewered the Sensitive-Bro Silliness of Matchbox Twenty’s ‘Push’

When hip filmmakers include unhip music in their movies, the assumption is that they’re making fun of it. For instance, a key emotional moment in Lady Bird is underscored by Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan) and her best friend Julie (Beanie Feldstein) crying and singing along to Dave Matthews Band’s ultra-sensitive ballad “Crash Into Me.” The audience is primed to laugh, but Lady Bird writer-director Greta Gerwig always insisted it wasn’t a joke — and she told Dave Matthews as much when she wrote him a letter asking permission to use his song.

All the Bait-and-Switch Tactics Fox Has Used to Trick ‘Simpsons’ Viewers into Watching the Show

When the still brand-new Fox network spun off The Simpsons from The Tracey Ullman Show in December 1989, promoting the show was a critical task. Granted, there was already a lot of buzz around The Simpsons, but all that buzz also carried with it a greater risk that Fox would lose control of the messaging. So, in the beginning at least, the network had to be fully in tune with what people were talking about regarding the show — from “Bart is a troublemaker!” to “Even though they’re cartoons, the Simpson family is so relatable!”

More Tactics:

• 4 Brainwashing Tactics IKEA Uses From the Cult Handbook

• 7 Insane Police Tactics That'd Be Funny If They Weren't Real

• 14 Underhanded Marketing Tactics That Are Too Common

• 6 Sleazy Tactics Tech Companies Use To Get Ahead

• 5 Common Argument Tactics That Need to Die

TWEET OF THE DAY

ARTICLES | PICTOFACTS | VIDEOS