Spongmonkey
Encyclopedia
The Spongmonkeys are an Internet phenomenon, created by Joel Veitch
, that crossed over into television
in the form of Quiznos
commercials. They appear to be a pair of graphically edited
tarsier
s with human mouths, and appear on the web at the rathergood.com website. These creatures float in the air in front of a hydrangea
bush while singing a song called "We Like The Moon". One of the Spongmonkeys plays a guitar
, while the other sings.
The name "spongmonkeys" originated on the B3ta
website, where "spong" is a slang term for adding oversized eyes to an image.
In early 2004 the Spongmonkeys began appearing in television advertisements for Quiznos singing an altered version of their song called "We Love the Subs." One commercial featured the oft-imitated line "they got a pepper bar," referring to the self-serve assortments of peppers that are a Quizno's selling point. The comments on the commercials were mixed, and a few months later the commercials stopped airing.
The Spongmonkeys Quiznos commercial was a topic on an episode of VH1
's Best Week Ever
. The Modern Humorist
said that "they are what you see before you die" (a reference to one YTMND site featuring a cat on a keyboard floating in space).
Like many Internet cult phenomena (such as Badger Badger Badger
) it was first launched in the B3ta
newsletter in January 2003, although the first appearance on the site dates back to a post on the b3ta message board in June 2002.
The Spongmonkeys have recently appeared in the seventh episode of Veitch's Tales of the Blode series. They've also starred in a new cartoon called Can you Imagine a World with Hover Bacon?.
The song "We Like The Moon" is now available for download in Rock Band
via the Rock Band Network
. The song is credited to "rathergood.com" rather than "spongmonkeys".
Joel Veitch
Joel Veitch is a British web animator, singer-songwriter, and member of the humour website B3ta. Veitch is owner of the web site RatherGood where he showcases many of his animations. Joel has also created the Mr...
, that crossed over into television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
in the form of Quiznos
Quiznos Sub
Quiznos is a fast casual restaurant franchise based in Denver, Colorado. The company specializes in offering toasted subs, although they may be served untoasted at the customer's request...
commercials. They appear to be a pair of graphically edited
Flash cartoon
A Flash animation or Flash cartoon is an animated film which is created using Adobe Flash or similar animation software and often distributed in the .swf file format. The term Flash animation not only refers to the file format but to a certain kind of movement and visual style which, in many...
tarsier
Tarsier
Tarsiers are haplorrhine primates of the genus Tarsius, a genus in the family Tarsiidae, which is itself the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes...
s with human mouths, and appear on the web at the rathergood.com website. These creatures float in the air in front of a hydrangea
Hydrangea
Hydrangea is a genus of about 70 to 75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and North and South America. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea...
bush while singing a song called "We Like The Moon". One of the Spongmonkeys plays a guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, while the other sings.
The name "spongmonkeys" originated on the B3ta
B3ta
B3ta is a high-profile British website, described as a "puerile digital arts community" by The Guardian. It was founded in 2001 by Rob Manuel, Denise Wilton and Cal Henderson....
website, where "spong" is a slang term for adding oversized eyes to an image.
In early 2004 the Spongmonkeys began appearing in television advertisements for Quiznos singing an altered version of their song called "We Love the Subs." One commercial featured the oft-imitated line "they got a pepper bar," referring to the self-serve assortments of peppers that are a Quizno's selling point. The comments on the commercials were mixed, and a few months later the commercials stopped airing.
The Spongmonkeys Quiznos commercial was a topic on an episode of VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's Best Week Ever
Best Week Ever
Best Week Ever is a weekly television program on the United States cable/satellite network VH1. It started airing in 2004 and was put on hiatus in the summer of 2009...
. The Modern Humorist
Modern Humorist
Modern Humorist is a U.S.-based humor webzine founded in 2000 by John Aboud and Michael Colton , and managed by CEO Kate Barker. Its board of directors includes feature film producer Frank Marshall and comedian Jon Stewart.A competitor of the The Onion, Modern Humorist stopped publishing new...
said that "they are what you see before you die" (a reference to one YTMND site featuring a cat on a keyboard floating in space).
Like many Internet cult phenomena (such as Badger Badger Badger
Badger Badger Badger
"Badger Badger Badger" or "The Badger Song" is a Flash cartoon by British animator Jonti Picking. It consists of images of badgers doing calisthenics, a toadstool in front of a tree, and a snake in the desert...
) it was first launched in the B3ta
B3ta
B3ta is a high-profile British website, described as a "puerile digital arts community" by The Guardian. It was founded in 2001 by Rob Manuel, Denise Wilton and Cal Henderson....
newsletter in January 2003, although the first appearance on the site dates back to a post on the b3ta message board in June 2002.
The Spongmonkeys have recently appeared in the seventh episode of Veitch's Tales of the Blode series. They've also starred in a new cartoon called Can you Imagine a World with Hover Bacon?.
The song "We Like The Moon" is now available for download in Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
via the Rock Band Network
Rock Band Network
The Rock Band Network is a downloadable content service designed by Harmonix Music Systems with the help of Microsoft to allow musical artists and record labels to make their music available as playable tracks for the Rock Band series of rhythm video games, starting with Rock Band 2...
. The song is credited to "rathergood.com" rather than "spongmonkeys".