5/1/2023 UPDATE: For our second appearance on “Last Week Tonight,” John Oliver premiered the plumbing commercial he challenged us to make. Our efforts to create a masterpiece ad based on the 1999 film “Magnolia” were a success and delivered a $10K donation to the Central Texas Food Bank. Radiant also decided to match that donation and contribute $10K to the San Antonio Food Bank, a city we also service for plumbing, HVAC, and drains.
The Radiant marketing machine has become a thing of legend. For over 2 decades, Central Texas residents have been treated to a variety of media, from pun-heavy radio ads to satirical toilet window displays. If you ask locals, however, they’ll tell you that nothing compares to Radiant plumbing commercials. Our 30 second tv ads are a full body experience. You will laugh, and you might even cry. One thing’s for sure, you won’t be bored.
Recently, our audience expanded dramatically…
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John Oliver’s Segment
If you read our headline, you read exactly right! On Sunday’s March 5th episode of “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” HBO’s beloved evening host, John Oliver, spent the last six minutes of his show digging deep into Radiant Plumbing & Air Conditioning’s treasure trove of comedy induced television commercials.
He concluded the show on a BIG cliffhanger which you can read more about below!
John Oliver, host of “Late Week Tonight With John Oliver”, runs a lengthy segment covering Radiant Plumbing & AC’s TV ads. Courtesy of HBO.
John’s wave of reactions took us on a journey of confusion, laughter, and, of course, high acclaim for the amazing production that the Austin and San Antonio, TX based plumbing, heating, and air company distributes as their TV ads.
The segment broadcasted three of Radiant’s TV ads in its entirety to exemplify the immense creativity filled within each 30 second spot. He also took the time to highlight additional notable videos featured on the Radiant YouTube page as well as the nostalgic series of toilet window display photos from the earlier days of Radiant’s advertising.
John Oliver goes over examples of Radiant Plumbing & AC’s series of Toilet Window Displays. Courtesy of @BaneWruse on Twitter.
John Oliver’s Challenge To Radiant
But wait! There’s more!
In an epic close to the show, John leaves his desk and walks towards the main stage. Radiant logos are fading in following his entrance and they soon transition into custom movie posters of the Radiant TV ads.
In a wrap up to the show, John broadcasts a challenge to Radiant to create a parody of a movie of their choosing. See Instagram post here. Courtesy of Last Week Tonight.
In his hand he held a sealed gold envelope which contained a movie title. John declared a challenge to Radiant to take on the mystery movie title and create another theatrical plumbing & AC ad. In return, he will donate $10,000 to the Central Texas Food Bank. Looks like a pretty straightforward proposal! The only question that remain is how will Radiant respond to John Oliver?
Radiant’s Response To John Oliver
Since the episode many have wondered “did Radiant Plumbing respond?” In typical Radiant fashion, we had to set the scene and produce a video worthy of Last Week Tonight. With a breathtaking city skyline behind him, Co-Founder Brad Casebier definitively answered the question “did Radiant take on the challenge?” Check out our response to John below.
On Tuesday 7 March 2023 at exactly 3:31 pm, less than 48 hours after John Oliver’s show aired, we replied. As you can see, we’re ready to play!
The Final Product – “Magtoiletolia”
After weeks of speculation, Radiant delivered on John Oliver’s challenge. On Sunday 30 April 2023, Austin & San Antonio’s #1 in plumbing & HVAC was featured on Last Week Tonight for a second time. It was revealed that John’s film of choice was none other than Paul Thomas Anderson’s 3 hour epic, Magnolia.
John Oliver was blown away by the final product we delivered. In this detailed segment, he draws attention to our commercial’s stellar acting, seamless transitions, and of course, toilets falling from the sky.
In typical Radiant fashion, we named our take on the 1999 psychological drama “Magtoiletolia.” Take a look at the full length commercial:
We managed to compress 188 minutes worth of action into the plumbing commercial to end all plumbing commercials. With a runtime of 3:46, not a second was wasted. Following our source material’s lead, we managed to weave together a dozen intricate story lines leading to a climactic conclusion that (sort of) lands on its feet.
In order to produce a plumbing commercial of this magnitude, our entire company had to pull together. The credits of Magtoiletolia list over 20 individuals that were directly involved as actors, producers, set designers, sound engineers, and more. Team members from all our different departments joined in, including plumbing, HVAC, drains, human resources, warehouse, dispatch, and customer support.
Paying It Forward
Perhaps the only part of the episode that wasn’t surprising is the fact that John made good on his promise to donate $10,000 to the Central Texas Food Bank. John relayed another important message; that Radiant is matching Last Week Tonight’s donation. We are delighted to hand over a check for 10K to the San Antonio Food Bank. Our name has become synonymous with Austin, but not everyone is aware that we also serve the great city of San Antonio, TX. We’re thrilled to support the San Antonio Food Bank and we strongly encourage whoever is reading this to donate to your local food bank. As a company, we are now fully engaged in the fight to end hunger in Texas. We have launched our own food drive, allowing employees to bring in food donations. We likewise launched a virtual food drive allowing customers to support the cause.
What Now?
To sum up our experience with John Oliver and Last Week Tonight, one word comes to mind: fun. John’s challenge helped us to rediscover the joy of making wonderfully weird plumbing commercials. We were reminded of the reason why our marketing efforts are so successful. It’s because we can rely on our biggest assets to get the desired result: our employees.
This experience pushed us to new heights and we’re inspired to outdo ourselves with future commercials. Don’t be surprised if you start hearing about a follow-up to Magtoiletolia in the near future. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to keep up with this unfolding story.
If you think our ads are great, wait until you experience our award-winning service. Radiant Plumbing & Air Conditioning is a Texas original. We’ve been providing 5-star customer service for over 2 decades, and amusing local residents every step of the way. Our quirky and fun-loving personality on tv and social media is traded in for stellar professionalism when we’re called out to a job.
