John Krasinski's IF Super Bowl Trailer Throws It Back To A Great Prank From The Office

There's commitment to the bit, and then there are the lengths the "IF" folks went to in order to keep a hilarious running joke going. We're currently less than a week away from the national holiday and highlight of the year for the most annoying Americans you know — the Super Bowl — but, on the bright side, that also means studios and marketing teams are pulling out all the stops to separate themselves from the field. Since the actual phrase "Super Bowl" is, in fact, copyrighted, audiences are instead left with a slew of "Big Game" teases and trailers that are all attempting to one-up the others. And that brings us to one of the more clever gags we've seen in quite a while, courtesy of the upcoming John Krasinski-directed "IF."

...Or was it? Click the link above to watch the tease for yourself, since none of these words here can adequately capture the oddball vibes conjured by star Ryan Reynolds and, uh, his supposed director John Krasinski, played by Randall Park. Yup, they really went and threw it back to one of the most enduring gags from "The Office," known colloquially as "Asian Jim." For those who had actual lives and didn't spend all their waking hours watching the popular sitcom series, one season 9 episode featured the fan-favorite Dunder Mifflin employees pulling a prank on the oddball Dwight Schrute and attempting to convince him that an actor named Steve, portrayed by Randall Park, had actually been his coworker Jim (John Krasinski) all along. Hilarity ensued and a new meme was born, but clearly, Krasinski and Park (and Reynolds) were game to recreate the gag all over again.

None of this really has anything to do with the upcoming "IF," mind you, but that's the power of marketing, baby.

For those who've been paying attention to the marketing for "IF," John Krasinski's passion project about a young girl (played by Cailey Fleming) who suddenly realizes she can perceive everyone's imaginary friends from childhood, a certain purple-colored monster voiced by Steve Carrell (who is, of course, yet another "The Office" connection on this film) has become something of a punching bag among online skeptics who don't really know what to make of this high-concept fantasy film. In that light, it was probably wise of Paramount to shift the conversation a bit and go all-in on something that many more fans can relate to: laughing all over again at references to "The Office."

And "all-in" is probably putting it mildly, as the trailer doesn't just include Randall Park and Ryan Reynolds riffing together with fourth-wall breaks and winking humor — it also goes so far as to feature faux behind-the-scenes footage of Park as "John Krasinski" on set and in prime directing form alongside various actors and crew. It's clever and cute without ever becoming too much (although I suppose that depends on one's tolerance for "The Office") and in a time when some Super Bowl commercials can end up trying way too hard, this feels like a grade-A example of how they should be done. All that said, prepare yourselves for an onslaught of memes photoshopping Park in place of John Krasinski's Reed Richards outfit from his "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" cameo.

"IF" comes to theaters on May 17, 2024.