Facebook success: First 500 million users, now The Simpsons

by Steven Mostyn - Jul 23 2010, 17:09

Michael Jackson, Tom Hanks, 50 Cent, Simon Cowell, nothing says ‘star’ quite like a guest slot on America’s favourite animated sitcom, The Simpsons.

In the same week social network Facebook officially surpassed 500 million active users, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been confirmed for an appearance alongside Homer, Bart and the rest of the dysfunctional Simpson family.

In the episode, which is called ‘Loan-a-Lisa’, Lisa Simpson meets Zuckerberg at a conference for entrepreneurs while attempting to help Nelson get his new bike company off the ground.

Beyond the humour, it would appear the message being portrayed by the episode is that anyone can be a big success in business, regardless of qualifications. Moreover, Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard as a result of his belief in Facebook.

While an obvious career landmark for Facebook’s 26-year-old boss, Zuckerberg’s guest appearance won’t be the first time a leading light from the science and technology sector has been cast in yellow skin.

Specifically, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos popped up in 'The Burns and the Bees', while prominent theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking starred in both 'Stop or my Dog will Shoot' and 'Don’t Fear the Roofer'.

Beyond voicing an animated version of himself on The Simpsons, a motion picture charting Zuckerberg’s rise to fame and fortune (titled 'The Social Network') is heading for an October release.

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