‘The Puppets Can Hear You,’ CNBC Re-Enacts Goldman Sachs’ Elevator Tweets

Remember “Crank Yankers,” the Comedy Central show that ran from 2002 through 2005 created by Adam Corolla, Jimmy Kimmel and Daniel Kellison? It starred Corolla, Kimmel and a host of other celebrities prank-calling random people, but the calls were re-enacted by puppets. And somehow, those classic prank calls we all placed as kids were made so much more hilarious when we saw puppets doing the deeds.  Think of it as Muppets gone wild.

Now puppets are at it again, but this time they’re controlled by a very unlikely puppeteer. CNBC is producing videos of puppets reenacting the Goldman Sachs elevator tweets—from the popular Twitter account the claims all its posts are overheard inside the investment bank’s elevators. As previously reported by WallStreetInsanity, @GSElevator has been feeding more than 400,000 followers excerpts from conversations heard inside lifts in Goldman’s New York, London and Hong Kong headquarters for the past couple of years. And while the shallow garbage spewed by some of the jackass bankers is fucking hilarious, other comments are simply so profound it’s no wonder the speaker is filthy dirty rich.

CNBC’s video homage to the @GSElevator Twitter feed uses puppets to bring the verbatim comments to life, so to speak. And just as “Crank Yankers” puppets made the funny funnier, the CNBC puppets turn an already entertaining phenomenon into a comical masterpiece.

The video series, “The Puppets Can Hear You,” is part of CNBC’s new Digital Workshop, a “unique production studio that develops and produces original video programming for CNBC Digital products, including CNBC.com.” According to the network, more people visit CNBC.com each day to view videos than any other non-portal business news site.

“We have long been the dominant provider of online business video,” said CNBC Digital Workshop senior vice president and general manager Kevin Krim. “To grow our leadership position, we have established the CNBC Digital Workshop which will create original videos that enhance our coverage, inform and, whenever possible, entertain. We believe our unique video programming will provide better information that leads to better decisions and give our audience of decision makers, serious investors and affluent consumers an edge to succeed.”