Uploaded January 2011 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Commercial for HBO features an exterminator trying to eliminate stubborn cockroaches under the sink. He tries many things but nothing works, even receiving a thumbed nose and raspberry from the roach he is trying to exterminate. He finally pulls out a roach motel and adds a lit sign advertising free HBO. Roaches are drawn to the motel and begin to march inside to their doom.
The text at the end says "It's not TV, It's HBO."
This ad plays upon a previous very famous ad campaign for Black Flag's Roach Motels. Black Flag called their roach traps "Roach Motels" and advertised that "roaches check in but they don't check out". This advertising campaign was very well known and successful for at least a decade before this ad aired.
This ad gives no indication that it is an HBO ad until the sign is lit (the sign is even obscured when being installed) and the roaches start waltzing in. The roach trap is very clearly labeled roach motel and even has the Black Flag logo on it, completing the ruse that this is a Black Flag ad. Even the trademark notice indicating Roach Motel and Black Flag are owned by a company other than the one that made this commercial doesn't appear until after the trap is sprung.
It is also perhaps helpful to know that for motels around the USA, "free cable TV" or "free HBO" is (and was also at the time) often listed on the hotel sign as an enticement to potential lodgers.
This HBO ad successfully combines two piece of pop culture, producing a surprising and memorable ad when viewed in context.
The music appears to be Calypso music, perhaps a portion of Harry Belafonte's (Raymond Bell's) "Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)", as the roaches are seen entering in conga lines.
This 30 second spot aired on FOX on October 27th, 1997, during the premiere of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror VIII.
Commercial for HBO features an exterminator trying to eliminate stubborn cockroaches under the sink. He tries many things but nothing works, even receiving a thumbed nose and raspberry from the roach he is trying to exterminate. He finally pulls out a roach motel and adds a lit sign advertising free HBO. Roaches are drawn to the motel and begin to march inside to their doom.
The text at the end says "It's not TV, It's HBO."
This ad plays upon a previous very famous ad campaign for Black Flag's Roach Motels. Black Flag called their roach traps "Roach Motels" and advertised that "roaches check in but they don't check out". This advertising campaign was very well known and successful for at least a decade before this ad aired.
This ad gives no indication that it is an HBO ad until the sign is lit (the sign is even obscured when being installed) and the roaches start waltzing in. The roach trap is very clearly labeled roach motel and even has the Black Flag logo on it, completing the ruse that this is a Black Flag ad. Even the trademark notice indicating Roach Motel and Black Flag are owned by a company other than the one that made this commercial doesn't appear until after the trap is sprung.
It is also perhaps helpful to know that for motels around the USA, "free cable TV" or "free HBO" is (and was also at the time) often listed on the hotel sign as an enticement to potential lodgers.
This HBO ad successfully combines two piece of pop culture, producing a surprising and memorable ad when viewed in context.
The music appears to be Calypso music, perhaps a portion of Harry Belafonte's (Raymond Bell's) "Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)", as the roaches are seen entering in conga lines.
This 30 second spot aired on FOX on October 27th, 1997, during the premiere of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror VIII.
