Homer Simpson can probably find beer or donuts the way a pig can find truffles, but do you want him guiding you on the nation’s roads? Maybe not, but as of this week, users of TomTom’s portable navigation devices can pay to have Homer Simpson tell them where to get off… the highway.
In honor of the twentieth anniversary of “The Simpsons”, device maker TomTom has joined with 20th Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising and with Locutio Voice Technologies to let North American and European users customize their devices with phrases recorded by Dan Castellaneta, the official and original voice of Homer Simpson.
Users can go to the company’s customer site and, for a $12.95 fee (9.95 in Euros), get to hear Homer Simpson say things like, “Take the third right… We might find an ice cream truck! Mmmm… ice cream.”
“Homer Simpson has one of the most identifiable voices in entertainment history,” Fox executive vice president of licensing and merchandising Elie Dekel said in a release. “We have joined forces with TomTom to help celebrate this historic 20th anniversary, and to help provide a little levity for those long summer road trips ahead.”
Homer’s distinctive “D’oh!” is not the only celebrity tone available to TomTom owners, either at the TomTom site or through aftermarket providers such as Locutio and Navtones. TomTom users can access such other celebrity voice navigation options as Dennis Hopper, John Cleese, Kim Cattrall, Mr. T, Gary Busey and William Daniels, the voice of the original KITT car from the TV show “Night Rider”.
Fox recently launched “Best. 20. Years. Ever”, a global celebration of two decades of “The Simpsons”, set to culminate on January 14, 201, the 20th anniversary of the night “The Simpsons” graduated from a portion of “The Tracey Ullman show” into its own half-hour program.
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