Steve Perillo and his father before him have starred in Perillo Tours' television ads for trips to Italy for nearly 40 years, but the ultimate measure of their success arrived on May 4 with a "Saturday Night Live" sketch that parodied the commercials.
"I thought it was great," Perillo said. "Obviously, everyone who is parodied on 'Saturday Night Live,' they have kind of made it at some level in America."
In fact, if he could have changed anything about the sketch, he said, it was that "I wish they had used our name. It was flattering."
In the parody, guest host Adam Sandler takes to the screen to promote a company called Romano Tours and what it can — and can't — do for travelers.
"We like to remind our customers: If you are sad now, you might still feel sad there, OK?" Sandler said. "Remember, you are still going to be you on vacation."
As is typical for an SNL sketch, it very quickly tapped into levels of absurdity.
"I want to be very clear about what we can do for you," Sandler continued. "We can take you on a hike; we cannot turn you into someone who likes hiking. We can take you to the Italian Riviera; we cannot make you feel comfortable in a bathing suit. … We can provide you with a wine-tasting tour of Tuscany; we cannot change why you drink."
While Perillo said that SNL managed to tap into humor about how travelers are going to be the same person at home or while traveling, he does have his own travel philosophy.
"When you leave your home, no, you're not happier," he said. "But you get to see your life from a distance, and in that way it's very revealing."
Perillo's favorite part of the sketch? A line about how the squirrels are different in Italy.
"I don't know where they got it, but it was so spot on," he said. "The squirrels are red in Rome. I've always been saying this, and nobody cares."
Perillo Tours commercials have run in the New York metropolitan area and on select national cable channels since 1980.