Greg Warren Makes The Best Peanut Butter Sales Jokes of All Time with “The Salesman”
In the ever evolving quest to stand out in stand-up comedy these days, especially if you’re a cis-straight white man, the already crowded field, many of whom are still also cis-straight white men and the well-worn territory of comedic material up the ante to make a mark in the comedy ether.
“The Salesman”, the latest hour/special from veteran comedian Greg Warren, shows that the challenge described above is not impossible, yet one that needs something intensely personal, clever, and unlike anything you’ve really seen before in order to beat it. To our knowledge, an hour of comedy that mostly touches on the comedic ins and outs and nuances of selling peanut butter is something that has never been attempted, much less done so superbly to uproarious laughter and repeated applause. Even in the realm of solo shows that are essentially narrative driven hours of stand-up comedy, selling consumer goods hasn’t historically been a hotbed of inspiration.
Warren indeed sources most of The Salesman from his life and times working as a salesman almost as if he’s doing the peanut butter sales version of Steve Martin’s renowned bit “made for” a convention of plumbers from Let’s Get Small. That said, Greg’s deep dive of the capitalist machinations and dynamics that come into buying a jar of peanut butter from your local grocery store are fascinating, all while achieving that always desirous moniker: being relatable. You might have to had grown up in America and be subject to the peanut butter brand hierarchy to understand Jif’s dominance as a brand, but exceptionalism is pretty natural to the human experience.
No need for Last Week Tonight to cover peanut butter sales. Warren has done a pretty exhaustive and very enjoyable satirical tour of the whole industry that you can and should go enjoy right now. Greg Warren: The Salesman is streaming now, free of charge, on YouTube here.