Conan O'Brien

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Brand Bowl Misses the Mark -- Will Ferrell to the Rescue

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So, the Super Bowl is over, the more bearded team won, Colin Kaepernick will finally be forced to grow an actual beard vs. his awkward 'goatee'... all good things right?

Well, the commercials this year were something dreadful... really uninspiring (e.g. sleeping with horses sounds horrid; God didn't create farmers, he WAS one, Adam just pilfered his crops!), disengaging and most of all hairless. This is a shameful representation of our culture, and the bearded and facial hair arc we all know we are at the apex of (or better yet, climbing toward). This was a missed opportunity...

Unless you lived in a small part of the United States (tiny portions of Texas, Oklahoma and Montana, or perhaps Sweden)... then you saw a Will Ferrell Old Milwaukee commercial during your version of Super Bowl XLVII. Thanks Yahoo! News (and  of Shutdown Corner) for the find. Enjoy the below folks, really, let your inhibition go and let the ad take you to that special, warm place... a place, with mustaches and better kissing abilities than Bar Refaeli.

P.S. This awesome stache on Mr. Ferrell almost makes us forgive his shaving of Conan O'Brien's chin mane... almost.

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Meet Beardyman

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Conan O'Brien featured Beardyman last night - a musician from London renowned for his beatboxing skills and use of live looping technology - but of course his name caught our attention.  And although his goatee is not as incredible as we'd like to see (nor does he have an actual beard), his talent for creating audio mixes is truly something to admire.

The BBC has called him the "King of Sound" and "Ruler of Beats."  You can listen for yourself on SoundCloud.  Also, he was given the nickname "Beardyman" because a name was quickly needed for a flyer for an early show, and at the time he had a beard.  

Our advice - grow it back! 

 

Remember The Ginger Beard

It's not often that you can check into a beard, but this week, Conan O'Brien will allow you to do just that -- thanks to GetGlue. Team Coco is commemorating the Beardpocalypse with a limited edition sticker.

According to the Website, "Check-in on GetGlue tonight, or any time next week while watching CONAN and reserve your spot on this sticker’s short list of owners. After next week, the sticker will be put to rest forever - just like Conan’s glorious beard."

Personally, we're checked-out from covering this, but for social media beardos, we're trying to accomdate your need to be savvy.

Conan O'Brien @#$%^&*

"He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man." -Shakespeare

It took us a few days to really process the whole "beardpocalypse" that took place on May 2nd. We've been big... avid... loyal supporters of Conan O'Brien's beard so this was a sad loss... one that hit the BaB family hard... like an open-hand slap to a bare face. It stung. It hurt. It frankly pissed us off. 

Of course you could tell us that it was risky backing a celeb's beard... plenty of factors come into play that could jeopardize it's elegance and stunt it's growth (e.g. publicists, agents, commercials, movies), but unlike the rest of Hollywood's nauseating 2-minute beardos, we felt safe supporting Conan's face.  The ginger beard was destined for a fabulous future - at least the foreseeable one.  And surely he wouldn't shave it off to boost ratings or help his friend Will Ferrell make a splash before The Office.  The beard was the only thing that helped him out during those post-NBC days - brought him personal comfort and protection - and helped propel him to more recognition than he probably deserved.  

Sell out.

Chances are, you've had at least one breakup that left you wondering, "What the hell just happened?"  This is our moment. It was an agonizing death... watching a man shave off a proper beard can be like watching a car accident in slow motion: It's usually bad and hard not to watch.  

As recapped by OTRC.com, "The 43-year-old actor led O'Brien to a salon chair brought out to the stage by show workers. Ferrell held up a razor 'that runs on pure righteousness' and showcased some mock-ups of looks O'Brien could adopt - including a short mustache donned by Adolf Hitler. He then began shaving O'Brien's face..."

It's too devastating to report further on the facts. Where will we go from here? *spits* Not in TBS' direction.  Although, we might make an exception if Andy Richter grows a beard - and keeps it.  Let's hear it for real beards! 

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Conan O'Brien Is Back. And He Will Be Hairy.

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Dear Conan,

After months on hiatus - you, our bearded red hair refugee - will take the stage on TBS and debut your new show and God willing, your old flaming facial hair.  Yes, Build-a-Beard still believes in your whiskers.  No surprises here, Mr. O'Brien.  You've enticed us with this Entertainment Weekly article on Five Reasons to Tune In Tonight (we could have edited this to one - your beard), where you boldly tease us with - "You’ll get to see whether I kept the beard or not. And I don’t think I’m self-centered, but I think it’s more important to America than this election.”

You wouldn't dare betray us like that and further, would you really rip out the hearts of your beloved 18-34 year old demographic?  Wahl Trimmers released a facial hair survey that reported:

Perhaps due to his roots in New York and Boston, residents of the Northeast are most supportive of Conan maintaining at least some peach fuzz on his face at all times (17 percent, vs. 12 percent of the rest of the country). The coveted 18-34-year-old demographic feels more strongly than those 35 and older about preferring many TV hosts being far less clean-shaven, including George Lopez (17 percent vs. 8 percent), Jimmy Kimmel (13 percent vs. 4 percent), Stephen Colbert (10 percent vs. 4 percent) and Jon Stewart (10 percent vs. 3 percent).

Still others have questioned if you will shave your beard on-air.  Nonsense. Even The Washington Post advised that you steer clear of the blade - "Don't lose the beard. Sure, it would be all stunt-y to suddenly appear fresh-faced or to actually have your beard shaved off on the air (maybe by first guest Arlene Wagner, proprietor of the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum?). But the beard is part and parcel of your image now. It sets you apart from Leno, Letterman and Stewart. And, hey, if the whole late-night thing doesn't work out, you're all set for Shakespeare summer stock."

Build-a-Beard has been with you during this trying time - we're Team Coco all the way - please keep up the bearded discipline (even if it takes numerous shots of testosterone).  Prove to your audience that it truly is about turning on, tuning in, & growing it out. 

Looking forward to your show tonight at 11 p.m. ET in all your glistening glory.


All the best,
El Beardo & Riss

Get excited:

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Summer Ending Doesn't Mean Shaving

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We were happy to see that The New York Post wrote about beards this morning, but it's lame they focused on "the vacation beard."  Beards are not solely meant for escape purposes - it's about the reality of commitment.  It's about letting go of societal pressures - ignoring your nagging girlfriend, meeting the stares of your judging colleagues, scratching your beard in front of your boss - and being proud of the time and dedication it took to grow it out.  

Quote The Post: "Nothing boasts I just got back from a sweet trip quite like the vacation beard. It’s bold. It’s triumphant.  And undeniably a bit bad-ass."

We agree, but remember that beards are bad-ass all year round.  A vacation beardo is not scoring any points with us unless you keep it.  If you grow some nice scruff, but shortly thereafter run to the razor, you join the ranks of Jon Stewart (who shaved 3 days later referencing his family as the main reason for falling onto the blade), Conan O'Brien, Zach Galifianakis*, Brad Pitt, Jayson Werth, Iker Casillas, and Jon Hamm.  

*Zach, on a personal note, I will always love you and appreciate you growing it back. Call me.  

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Prove It Coco, #PROVEIT!

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So... Did you happen to catch the brand new TBS promo that aired last night for Conan O'Brien?! If not you can find it below.

Pretty neat, nifty, even cute... but also mysterious. We are starting a #conansbeardwatch at once, because we really dislike ambiguity, especially when it comes for facial hair. Now is the time to prove it Conan, and prove it you must... do it for Brookline High School, do it for me... nay, us!

So, will he? Won't he? Shouldn't he?! Well, he better! And we'll be watching... unless... they did this just to boost ratings... no way would a media personality and company ever do this to its fans, right?!


Conan, B-a-B is with you!

Our favorite late night talk show host will be on 60 Minutes this Sunday talking about his transition to TBS among other things... and now there is a leaked story that positions CoCo's statement that he "wouldn't have done that" (referring to Leno giving away, then taking back, The Tonight Show).

We here at B-a-B feel that regardless of what Conan said (or will say) on this matter, we stand behind him... he is correct in saying that there are things he wouldn't do that Leno does/did, and conversely there are things that Jay doesn't do that Conan happily does with a hairy smile... like, GROW A KICKASS BEARD.

For that, among many reasons (most notably that Conan's HS Alma Mater is the same as mine,  Brookline High School FTW!)... we salute you Conan and stand with you chin to chin. GO COCO, GO!

P.S. Even if Jay was to grow a beard (and with his chin it would sure to be HUGE), we will not support him... that time has passed, and the ship has sailed... we will however report on it if it does come to be. Below is an artist's (albeit a bad one) interpretation to hold you over.

P.P.S. David Letterman... we do recall your awesome beard... when's it gonna come back? bring it back David, bring it back!